Update from us

Sorry for the couple month delay... things have been BUSY around here!! As my previous post stated, I started daycare right after that post. I care for 4 kids, plus Kaden, each day. The kids are all great and we're having lots of fun. We're in a great routine and the days fly by. It took Kaden a couple weeks to adjust to having new friends, sharing his toys, and having to share Mommy, but he's doing much better. I have learned that he's definitely a rough-housing boy, but luckily his friends have figured this out and when he hugs them so hard they both fall down, they just laugh and get back up.

Here are some pictures from the last couple months:

When Kaden's looking for something, he puts his hands up by his eyes and calls them his "super hands". I'm pretty sure this came from TV somewhere...but I still think it's the cutest thing! He was looking for the garbage truck here...



With Elena, one of the daycare kiddos



King of the couch -- Kaden has enjoyed some recent changes around the house that have allowed him much more TV time. One being that he stopped napping towards the end of July and the other will be shared later...





Matt's been working crazy hours and was really exhausted one week. Kaden and I made him his favorite cookies to help cheer him up. Kaden enjoyed licking the beaters!! :)





The Parents as Educators group in St. Louis put on a truck "festival" the other weekend. We decided to take Kaden, even though I know we both had visions of the last time we took him a to see big trucks (crying, screaming, asking to leave, clutching to our waists). He surprised us both and loved it!

Riding a school bus


Walking on a flatbed truck



Driving a big truck



And enjoying an ice cream sandwich on the way home



"dancing" with Talbot



I took Kaden to the Transportation Museum a month or so ago. He had fun, even though it was almost 100 degrees and we were both WAY too hot!



I had to run inside real quick the other day and came out to find Elena and Kaden swinging and holding hands. My heart just melted! It was so sweet!






Having fun inside with the tunnel and catching bubbles







Kaden really enjoys playing with playdoh and has quite the imagination. He LOVES baseball (well, really any type of sport) and was pretending to use a "bat" to hit a "ball". Cute!



Iowa State Fair -- in August we took a weekend to go up to the State Fair in Des Moines. I hadn't been in several years and Matt had never been. Plus we knew Kaden would love it! We all had a good time and got to see several family members.







Kaden was so excited to jump on this, until it was actually HIS turn! Then he cried and cried and I had to go out there, get on the trampoline, and show him it was okay! haha





















We took a very quick trip to Minneapolis/Stacyville last weekend to buy our new-to-us van. Matt took one flight and Kaden and I took another (it was cheaper this way) but as usual, Kaden and I had horrible luck and instead of getting to Minneapolis at 10am, we spent extra hours in Milwaukee and got to Minneapolis at 3:30. We visited Mall of America with Aunt Debbie, saw Rainforest Cafe, rode some rides in the mall, then drove to Stacyville to visit with Grandpa Bruce, Grandma Sherri, and Aunt Nicole. Kaden had fun driving the tractor, playing baseball, and playing with a very friendly kitten. This was him waiting in the airport -- watching Mickey Mouse on the ipod.



As I stated earlier, Kaden stopped napping a couple months ago. He spends about an hour in his room everyday, but never naps! An average 2 year old should be getting 14-15 hours of sleep/day...not Kaden, he gets 10-11! I know he's exhausted but have no idea how to give him more sleep. Here's what he looks like during his TV time in the afternoon.



Other changes -- we moved Kaden out of his crib into a big boy bed at the beginning of the month. He's done great. I was fully expecting him to get out of his bed and play in his room, but he never does. Not even during his hour "rest" time. He just waits for me. He really likes his bed and I love being able to lay and cuddle with him while we read bedtime stories. It's also nice on nights when Matt works all night because I can go in and sleep with him... so cozy! He also had his first ear infection a couple weeks ago. He was really tough during it and mentioned to me a few times that his ear hurt, but never ran a fever/cranky/etc... I eventually took him in, and sure enough, EI it was! He's almost done with antibiotics and is doing a bit better.

And, even bigger changes--- as most of you know, Matt and I are expecting again! We found out during the last week in July and were very excited. In August we had our first ultrasound that showed it was twins! We were completely shocked and it took a good 2-3 weeks to settle in and feel real. I haven't been feeling great -- every night around 5ish I start getting super nauseous, sick, feeling exhausted, etc. It's all I can do to make supper, clean up, get Kaden and myself clean, and get Kaden to bed. I am now in my 2nd trimester and have felt a bit better the past 2 days. I REALLY hope it continues! So, between being busy with the daycare and going to bed at 8pm because I feel awful, the blog has really been ignored. The babies are due around April 3rd, but will probably come sometime between the 2nd week in February and 2nd week in March.

First ultrasound



And a couple days ago

Baby A (I think?)


Baby B (I think?)




A couple belly shots, because I know that's what everyone asks for! The first is about a week after finding out. I had started showing and my pants were getting tighter. I really started thinking it might be twins, but Matt told me the chances are so low, that it's barely a chance! Ha!

almost 5 weeks



13.5 weeks



We don't know gender yet, but will find out in the next month or so and will be sure to share! (think pink...think pink...think pink)

Matt has been busy with work and averages 80-90 hours/week. He's doing amazing and his constantly getting compliments at how great he's doing (as if any of us are surprised). He enjoys what he's doing and finds he really likes the surgeries.

*sigh* Last day....

Today was my last day of being a stay-at-home-mom. *sigh* This summer has flown by and Kaden and I have had so much fun together. We've traveled, visited familiy/friends, had many picnics, hung out in our jammies until noon, read countless books, gone to storytimes, the zoo, the children's museum, and many parks. I have loved it, but it had to come to an end....

Tomorrow Will comes for the day, and on Monday Elena and Matthew start, and later in the week Will and Emma. Starting on the 17th all 4 kids plus Kaden will be here. Our days will be busy and Kaden will love having friends, and I am excited to start doing daycare again, but nothing can replace just being a mom.

Here is a picture from today from our last today --



Painting outside in the middle of the afternoon. I have loved being able to do spur-of-the-moment crafts around the house, which is something that isn't as easy to do with 5 kids that are 2 and under.

Here are also a few from the past week--

Loving his desk (getting his crayons out of his drawer)



Water table fun







As for daycare... I do have 4 kids that will be starting in the next week or so. Matthew is a week older than Kaden and I'm super excited about this. They are going to love having one another and will form a great friendship (I hope) and will get to learn about sharing and taking turns together (hopefully in the nicest way possible). Elena is about an year and a half, Will just turned 4 months, and Emma is 3 months. Busy, busy!

Our house

Things are almost complete with the house and the basement now looks organized and set up, as opposed to a mess of drywall, mud, dust, paint, etc. It never would have been complete without the help of lots of family and Matt's amazing skills and determination. Here are some recent pictures:

Also, here are some before pics:

Basement (extra room)




Laundry area




Daycare/play room



Kitchen





The kitchen -- we painted the walls, changed the gold hardware to silver, and changed the faceplates/switches from yellowish to white.





The living room -- not much has been done, however the hallway in the back of the picture has been repainted and in the entryway (that you can't see) I removed all the wallpaper and painted it (with the help of Nicole and Sherri!). We have started hanging pictures, but still have several to do in the next couple weeks.



The middle bedroom upstairs -- nothing really done, but it has fewer boxes than before!



The front room -- it's no longer Kaden's primary playroom and has a few toys, the dining room, our desk, and Kaden's desk. The woman that lived here before us left the desk we gave to Kaden, and he loves it! We also gave him our old laptop so he enjoys being on his computer when we're on ours! He loves crawling up on his chair and coloring. He keeps paper, crayons, and pens in his drawer! My next painting job is painting this room.





The steps headed downstairs -- they are no longer 1970s style!



The playroom



In the back corner is a little baby section for Will (4/5 months) and Emma (3 months). That way they can safely play on the floor without the other three tripping over them! It's such an awesome, spacious room!



The area at the bottom of the steps -- Matt put down the flooring. This will be the painting/lunch/snack area.



Bathroom


Matt's work area -- the bonus of finishing the basement has been getting lots of new, manly tools!



Across from Matt's work area -- where the 2 younger babies sleep, plus the freezer.



My wonderful laundry area



Extra guest room -- and also where the two older kids will nap





The closet that Matt will work on in a few weeks



The pantry area --


And some random pictures --

Kaden only naps 2-3 days week now, and on the other days he reads, talks, and plays in his crib for 30-45 minutes. The other day I heard him talking and happened to look at the monitor to see he had pulled his laundry hamper up over the crib and set it up in his crib! He was quite proud of himself.



Kaden enjoying painting on his new easal in the playroom



Kaden and I ventured downtown to City Garden last week to play outside and have a picnic. I am quite proud I got downtown (thanks to Bri for directions!), parked, went to the park, and got out of the city all on my own and with Kaden! It was fun and quite the experience. Kaden really enjoyed the picnic.





This is how close we were to the arch!!



Matt was really tired last week and when Kaden and I came inside to read books and lay Kaden down for a nap, he stayed outside. After leaving Kaden's room, this is how I found him:



He said it was a great nap!!