Hamblin Family

Happy Birthday Dakota

2011-08-01T23:07:00.002-05:00

Yes, we all know that time flies by as we get older, but it really does seem like yesterday that we brought our little son home from the hospital. He is now 6 years old. He is a joy in our life yes at times he is pushing my buttons and doesn't want to listen and with this SPD life gets hard but I wouldn't trade him in for anything.

I love who he is and who he is becoming. It is the sweetest thing to listen to him remind us at family prayers to pray for a family in our ward who has a sick daughter and this friends dad who is looking for a job, and Jackson who is a friend to get better. Now he doesn't just pray that they will get better but for what each person needs.

I love the faith he has and the wiliness he has to listen to the spirit.

It was his day today and I allowed him to do whatever he wanted. So we watched some TV put together his little box of Lego's (I left the big Lego box for Aaron to put together with Kodi). The only thing I won't let him not do is he had to go to OT today and he loved it, he did a great job and I can already see the difference it makes. He is calmer and more together when we are done. It just reminds me that we need to do more sensory diet during the day. He really does need it.

We than picked up Aaron who had a flat tire on the way home from work let him change and off to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday. All three boys loved it and the place was pretty empty.

It was a good night and a great birthday for him.

His party is on Saturday and it's going to be great, fun he wants a Angry Birds party so that is going to be a great time.

Happy Birthday my son I love you and I am so happy you decided to join our family

HOLY COW IT"S HOT HERE

2011-07-24T12:59:00.002-05:00

So we finally got the heat wave the rest of the country has been feeling and man is it hot. We are totally crazy and decided yesterday we should visit the zoo. Yes totally crazy it was great since not alot of people were there but man was it hot out. The best part of the time was we actually got to see the two tigers out and playing. They played in the pool and it was so very cool. Usually they are either sleeping or you can't find them.
The boys played in the fountains at the zoo and we than looked for feathers from the Peacocks and went into the reptile rooms which was nice and cool. Over all we spent 3 hours walking around and drinking so much water. We stayed hydrated and we didn't get sick. The boys did a great job walking around and riding in the strollers.
We than came home and cleaned up the house and watched a movie night, we also watched a very cool lightening storm. Got a good amount of much needed rain and went to bed. It was over a very good day. I love our zoo it's small enough to walk around in about 2 hours and the boys love it. I took KK on Wednesday since Kodi was at a friends house and he loved being in charge of what we do. I want to do a lesson for them on the different animals they love.

And we are OFF

2011-07-22T13:14:00.002-05:00

We have been training for our three different races this summer, and actually we just added a 4th race. The First one was last Saturday Aaron and I both did a 5k and Kodi did a 1 mile fun run.

I was so very proud of Kodi he didn't run the whole way but did his best and loved getting the metal at the end.

Aaron was done first before me and I was only about 7 minutes behind him. I am loving my running, I love the fact that we run as a family. We love to run down at Mount Trashmore and the boys will sit in the strollers while we run and their reward after we are all done is to play on the huge playground. Which they love.

Our next race is set for August 13th and this one is an 8k mudd run. I can't wait we are going to be entering as a couple and have to finish together. I know I run slower than Aaron but I am just excited to be able to do the mudd run. Kodi isn't sure if he wants to do the kid mile mudd run. I would love him to do it and try, but he is scared of the mudd. Maybe we can work on this with this OT.

Than at the end of Sept we are taking a disney Disney and will be running two races. A 5k in the morning and than Aaron and I have entered a half marathon relay that night. I am so very excited. Not only have I been losing weight I am getting in shape and I love how I am feeling. My boys notice I have more energy and I am happier.

I have the wonderful shin splints and have had to take some time off from running I bough some wonderful shin sleeves and those work so very well. The heat is taking a huge amount of energy out of me, and with it being so very hot we have not been able to run this week. If it was just Aaron and I running it would be different I would run my 30 minutes and make my 5k but with the kids just sitting and Peyton's breathing we aren't going to be taking any chances. He is doing pretty well we are back to nebing him once a day and allergy meds at night.

But other than that this is the longest he has gone without needing to see the ENT. We are getting excited about moving in January we still only have verbal orders to Indian Head, MD and we can't wait. It looks beautiful and I hear it's great. Not any closer to my family or Aaron's and it looks like we won't be heading WEST anytime soon. Aaron is still planning on going to medical school and has about two years of pre-med he has to do. So Starting this fall he will be in school again. Can't wait for that part to be all over, and the med school he is trying to get into Uniformed Services University of Health Science. It is a long road ahead of us but we still feel that is where the Lord wants us.

Growing up way to fast

2011-07-11T07:59:00.002-05:00

It seems that my kids won't stop growing, Peyton is getting big but at the same time is only in the 22% for his age my little bug is so small. Kingston is HUGE he is so tall, he come up to Kodi's chin. I have to remind myself he is only 3 and not 4 or 5. Kodi is also tall and skinny he is wearing 6/7 pants but the waist doesn't fit him.
Kingston is now potty trained and loves being a big boy. We are working on not fighting, so I came up with a sticker chart for the both of them and if it's full by the time our Disney trip comes in Sept than they will get to build a light-saber, which they are both excited for.
I seem to be getting older as well I can't believe it's that time again for my birthday and well when I was younger it seemed like "forever" for my birthday to come around again and now it takes no time at all my birthday to come again.
Yesterday was a great day, my lesson in primary was a Big hit with both senior and junior primary. Junior was into a little more than senior but either way we learned about the temple and how important it is to be sealed to your family.
I found a great idea on sugardoodle.net and used it. I had a picture of the temple under a blanket and told the kids it was a gift from Heavenly Father and they had to guess what it was. Once we figured out it was a the temple they told me why it this gift was so very important. Than I had a handful of kids come put and we made a family we had a and the kids linked arms and they had to walk around together they were "sealed" together. Of course jr thought it was so cool and Sr. well the it was " I don't want to touch girls" of course they were all good sports and did it anyway.
Next I had a ziplock bag and I put in "Lifesavers" the bag and told the kids it was their family and than I dumped the bag on the floor and the family wasn't together anymore. Picking up the family I put them back into the bag and "sealed" the bag shut tried to dump out the family again and couldn't because the bag was "sealed", I asked the kids if they wanted to be sealed to their family and made the kids bags of family and we sealed them up too.
So much fun, I loved being in primary and teaching the kids.

Running and Running

2011-07-06T20:58:00.003-05:00

We have been spending a lot of time playing and running outside. We have been taking turns at night running at the park while the kids play. Now that we are down to 11 weeks until our Big DISNEY run we are training together and the kids have to sit in the strollers so we can get used to pushing the strollers while we run.
I can't believe how much I like to run, I thought I wouldn't but I do, I love the feeling of it's just me I don't have to worry about anyone else. I put my music on and I just run, and run. We have a 5k coming up this next weekend and I am so very excited about it.
Kodi and KK even run next to us, we have been training with them so they are ready for their run at Disney. We had a wonderful 4th spent time with Aaron and home and even got KK his bike for completing his potty chart, we are now officially potty trained. It's great and he is doing a great job, and loves going potty.
Peyton is being Peyton and is turning into a character, we love how he laughs when his brothers laugh and will play along with him. We are enjoying his humor very much.

Summer Time

2011-06-03T11:41:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that summer is finally here, school is out for Kodi and we are able to finally sleep in and not worry about getting up and ready for school. We have put up darker shades in both boys rooms and they both sleep until around 9 which is nice I can get a few things done before they get up or I can sleep in. I had gotten up and went running once this week, but yesterday morning it wasn't happening Peyton didn't go to bed until 11 and KK was up a little later than that. I was able to get in a little run last night and will tonight go running. We are 18 weeks and counting until our big race down at Disney and training is setting in.
I love running, I love how I can just let everything go and just run, be along with no one wanting me to do anything. I just run.
We are running three time as week and with two days at 30 minutes and the third day longer. It's a great way to stay in shape and lose weight. I am feeling great and love how I am losing my weight.
It was very sweet this morning my mom called to see if the boys wanted to talk to Haleigh who was in the car with her, but the boys were sleeping so I talked to her and just at the end kodi woke up and was able to say hi and how he missed her. They really miss their cousins and family back in MN as do I.
We have been enjoying the warmer weather here and have been watching the storms come across America and are getting ready for Hurrican season, I am putting together our 72 hour kits and teaching our boys about them. It's pretty fun and I am blessed to know why the Lord as asked us to be prepared. I am doing my best to be ready for anything that comes our way.

It's been a while

2011-05-20T07:36:00.003-05:00

So it's been while since I last blogged, I am going to try and do my best for posting more. We made it back home and while it was good to be home for 2 1/2 months, it was also really good to be home. The boys really loved coming home and seeing all their things. We got home around 11 and KK was so excited to be home and be with all his toys. I finally had to tell him it was bed time and to go to bed. Kodi started back at school and now today is the last day of class. He loves all his friends at school and is already making plans for this summer with all of them and has invited all of them to his birthday party this summer.
KK is still being KK and testing my limits, he loves waking up, and letting me know how much he loves me. He has started to learn his letter and colors. We also have noticed that he is not seeing well and we are looking for an peds eye doctor. He loves playing with Peyton and Kodi, he is becoming a very fun loving brother. Just like Kodi he wants to make sure Peyton is included. He also doesn't always like having Peyton in his toys, but is learning to be nice and give Peyton options.
Peyton is being Peyton, he loves to pinch his brothers while they sit in the car, but neither one wants to sit in the back sit, away from Peyton nor do they want me to move Peyton. He is a huge climber, the chairs at our table are once again up so he can't climb up on them. He is growing like a weed, but at the same time is smaller than my other two boys. He is so far staying healthy and we haven't seen any breathing problems.

Peyton and surgery

2011-04-07T12:40:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Peyton had surgery and he did such a great job! We had to be down at children's at 6:45am and surgery was at 8:15, he did a super job of not crying while waiting. He walked down the hall talked to all the nurses and played with them. I love how each Doctor we have met with and had interaction with has always had Peyton's health concerns in their best interest. The anesthesiologist wanted to all the history of Peyton's breathing problems and about his Stenosis, and than reassuringly me he wasn't going to intubated all the way down. He didn't want to make more damage on his trachea. Which put my mind at ease. We just got a clean bill of health from Dr Tibsear and I didn't want to have to see him again for more stretching. Dr. Tibsear even came and checked on me to see how I was while Peyton was in recovery and said he had checked on Peyton as well. I feel so very blessed to have such Doctors looking after my son. Yesterday we weren't even Dr Tibsear's patient and he took care of Peyton like he was.

While we were at the hospital my Mom was watching the boys and had made plans to take the boys to the zoo, needless to say the loved it. I was home before they left and they came home around 6 last night. Telling how much fun they had. Kodi even told me "we have to take Daddy to the zoo"

Tomorrow Aaron flies in :) We thought maybe he would have to work so we booked him the last flight out but he doesn't have to work so we is going to the airport in the morning and will try to go standby to get home at a better time. It's been a great trip, stressful for me at times, but I am grateful we got what we came here for and much more!

Friday one more week

2011-04-01T21:17:00.002-05:00

We have one more week until Aaron comes to spend the week with us and than we are off back VA again. He is so very happy to join us and we are happy for him to be back with us. The boys are so very excited to be seeing him. We had an okay day, I was planning on taking the boys to see HOP but as we were getting in the car Kodi decided to have a fit and so that made our plans go out the door. He was not happy about not seeing the movie. Kingston really didn't seem to mind either way, just as long as he was able to spend some time with me. So as Kodi continue to have his meltdown I took KK outside in the backyard and let him swing and than we went for a walk. We found some birds and squirrels, and KK thought he heard a frog.

By the time we got home Kodi had settled down and was sad we did go and see the movie. We did have a good rest of the night, we had pizza and watched Tangled. I also was able to brush him, which was great. I am hoping to get more brushing in tomorrow, going the whole program again which is every two hours for the first week and than back it off to every 4 hours for another week and than 6 hours until it's just down to 2 times a day.

Peyton is super crabby and not sure why he has a moler coming in not sure if that is it, but all he wants is me to hold him. I love my little boy who seems to be growing up way to fast. I wish they would stay small a little longer.

Good News

2011-03-30T21:09:00.002-05:00

I am very happy to say that Peyton is cleared from his ENT and has a clean bill of health from him:) That makes us very happy, now the catch 22 is that if he gets croup that puts him back to see the ENT but right now he is great! We have schedule his surgery with the urologist for Wed morning and than we should be go to go.

Today was the last day of school for Kodi, next week is spring break and than the week after that we will leave. I didn't see the point of paying a whole month worth of tution for 3 days. Kodi was happy to know that it was his last day for that meant daddy is coming soon to get us, and he is so ready for daddy to come and take us home.

KK is being KK and having a trouble listening to me. I don't know if it's because he is three or if he just doesn't want to listen to me at all. either way it drives me crazy.

It was a very slow day at home and we did n't do much of anything. I did get to workout and train some more for my up coming runs which I love. The boys love going to the club and playing in childcare, which is always great for me. I hate working out and wondering if they are going to be coming to get me because Peyton is crying. But he cried for just a little bit and than was playing as I walked by to get my things out of the lockers when I was done.

Peyton has become a climber and won't leave his feet on the ground which means we are in trouble.

Another day

2011-03-28T22:01:00.004-05:00

Yes it's Monday and another start to a week. The boys are still at times driving me crazy, but that is my life. I was happy to hear back from the lady from the Department of Education in Virginia I have been emailing her about how we can get Kodi into a different public school. They have some laws about Military and schools and I wanted to know what she knew and if she could help us out. She was out of the office today but I did receive and email this morning from her asking for my phone number so she could call and talk to me. Let's pray it's good news and we can figure something out.

No word yet on when Peyton will be having surgery again for his little man parts, his

testicles have not dropped and we need to get that fixed. Poor kid he just can't seem to win. KK is still on meds for his ears, we go and see Tibsear next week for his ears to be checked again. I think this is the 4th ear infection for him and they get pretty bad. I caught this one a little earlier than usually which is great.

We are starting to count down the days until we are back with Aaron next Friday is when he flies in and than sometime that week we will leave to go back home. It will be a bitter sweet leave. We have had a great time there and very grateful for being here.

A Great weekend

2011-03-27T21:14:00.002-05:00

It has been a wonderful weekend for us, Friday night we spent at the Hawks house while I watched all the kids. My two favorite girls came over to see us, we love Emilie and Ali, it was great to spend time with them and the kids.

Saturday we went to the children's museum and played and plays for about 4 hours. All the kids did great. We had a total of 9 kids and 4 adults, it was busy but not to bad. We spent a lot of time at the Legos exhibit which was a lot of fun, they played and played with the legos.

We than went into the Woods exhibit that one the kids would have spent the whole day in. They loved seeing and touching the turtle I think if I would have let KK he would have spent the whole day looking and touching the two turtles they had out. In the room there is an ant hill the kids can play and run under the hill through tunnels and slides. It was a blast for them Peyton even got down and ran around.

We than stopped for lunch, ate a little bit and headed back into another room. It was the little city the twins had a great time in the grocery store and Peyton played in the mail room, the big kids ran around and did the rock star room, drove the bus. We left the water room to the end, of course it was a huge hit. Peyton loved playing in the water as well as Leo and Max. There are 4 tables they can play in, and than a bubble table.

All I can say was it was a blast and all the kids had a wonderful time. Kodi did not meltdown and did a great job with all the people around.

Today was a good day at church, I was able to listen in RS which I don't ever get to do. I only have two more Sundays until we are back in our ward and back in Primary. We than came home and the boys have been great. A little tired for yesterday but it was all good today. I got all of them in bed and sleep by 8:30 tonight. Only two more weeks until we see Aaron and than go back home.

Doctors and more Doctors

2011-03-25T11:04:00.002-05:00

We finally saw Dr Tibesar yesterday for Peyton's check up it's been about 1 1/2 months since we had the surgery and he is thinking that was the last one! Yesterday was the best check up, he said that is the best sounding he has every heard Peyton, we are so happy to hear this. Of course with croup that will always set us back, but so far he hasn't had any croup and we hope that we won't.

We know where to find Dr Tibesar if we need him again. We are so very grateful for him and how well he worked on our son and how well he took care of him.

Now we just have to make the appointment for his surgery for his little man problem and we will than set to leave in April. We have the OK by Tibesar and just need the OK from his Pulmonolgist and we will be good to go.

We are still looking for a good school for Kodi to attend this fall, Virginia doesn't have open enrollment, so if you are zoned for a bad school than you have no choice to get your kid into another great public school. Have I said how much I HATE Virginia. Education is a huge part of life and I want all my children to succeed in what they do. They need to have the best education I can give them. Homeschool is not an option for Kodi, with his speech-language he needs to be around other children. Plus he and I just don't mix like that. I would love to homeschool him, but we have a hard enough time getting through the day at times, I don't know how I would get him to do school work.

Kingston is pushing all my buttons, being 3 and not listening has landed him in a lot of time to think and be away from everyone else. Let me tell you doesn't like it but he needs to learn, what we are telling him is not to be mean but to help him and keep him safe. My mom keeps telling me I was just like him. I guess that is only fair that I got a kid just like me.

We have a fun filled night ahead so a quite day at home, I am watching Tara's kids while they go out, so I hope KK and the twins will play nicely. Our time here is coming to an end, I am sad and yet I am glad to go back home. I miss my best friend and my own space.

Once again we have snow

2011-03-23T13:42:00.004-05:00

Last night as I was driving back from Target the rain was turning into ice and than when we woke up we had a very nice fresh looking blanket of snow. Of course the roads were awful and Kodi cough wasn't getting any better so like a good Mommy I try to be I got him an appointment this morning, thankfully he doesn't have anything and he cough is clearing what is in his chest :) I really don't need anymore sick kids.

So we braved the roads and made it back home and I had the boys just rest until I was time to get Kodi to school. This time the roads were a little better and we wasted no time in playing in the snow. Kk was coughing so hard he wanted puked "Mommy I need to puke outside" so I took him out of his carseat and let him try to puke in the snow. Thankfully he didn't, but we got back in the car and off to school.

I am so very thankful more and more companies are coming out with natural ways of putting coloring into foods. Kodi is not suppose to have Red or Yellow dyes and so he doesn't get the fun treats, but as we were looking for snacks I saw that the colored Goldfish are now use all natural ingredients for coloring the fish! He as so very happy, we also found some popsilces that use natural ingredients another plus for us. The sad part for Kodi is that he loves Orange soda and that has both in so I just have to remind him that we don't get those dyes because they are so very bad for us.

Peyton is being Peyton climbing and everything and getting into everything. He is back in the yellow zone for his Asthma and I am back to nebbing him 3 to 4 times a day. I am grateful because he really does a great job of using the neb and doesn't fuss to much.

I am finally getting more sleep, Kodi is back in his bed and I am able to sleep much better. I am gearing up again for the Cinco de Mayo run and I can't wait. I had so much fun training and running the 7k. I was very proud of my family for all of us running it. I can't wait to do more, Kodi and KK are very excited about their race they will be doing at Disney. Kodi is all about training and exercising for it.

Staying well

2011-03-22T22:21:00.002-05:00

I am not sure if my family will ever be well, it seems that we get over something and we catch something new. This time the whole family has a awful cough, that keeps us up at night. Peyton is wheezing but that is because of his Asthma, and now I took KK in for his ears. He told me that he had ants in his ears and ladybugs. He has been pulling on them and didn't say much if they were hurting, but I thought might as well. Sure enough he has double ear infections and the Doc heard KK cough and checked out his lungs and he has broncitis. Thankfully he goes to see the ENT in the next couple of weeks to recheck his hearing and his tubes. He sure is keeping me on my toes he is 3 and doesn't let me forget that.

Petyon on the other hand is in store for another surgery, his testicles have not come down and so we saw the Urogoloist yes in fact this is a problem for Peyton. So we will be having the surgery after he see's his other Doctors just to make sure they don't want to do any other dialations on his airway and if they do than we will do all the surgeries together.

I really love Children's and their wonderful doctors.

Kodi is doing great did a great job at school and his teachers are sad that we are going back to VA at the end of April.

Some Updating

2011-03-21T16:50:00.002-05:00

I didn't check the last time I updated my posting so I was sitting here watching the boys play outside and thought I might as well update. Things in Minnesota are great, we had to move up Peyton's surgery from the end of Feburary to the Beginning of Feburary, the surgery went well and we go back on thursday to see what the Doc thinks and how many more if any he will have to have. We are also finding out that Peyton has Asthma which is one reason why we couldn't get him to stop wheezing, we are now getting that under control.

Kingston turned 3 while we are home and he loved his pool party and playing with his cousins. He is a typical 3 year old boy, who believes he is right and doesn't want to listen to anything I say. Thankfully I can call Aaron to help me and back me up on what I am telling Kk. He is so very happy, we are also getting his ear check again for hearing since he is so very loud again and didn't pass his hearing test on his check up. I have to say we love our ENT so very much.

Kodi is in school and loves being back in Teach Gail's class, he went the first day we got here and I was told it was like he never left. Which was great, we have had some meltdowns but for the most part he is doing great. We also have him working with a friend who tutors kids who have Dyslexia and he does a great job with her. As for therapy our insurance won't cover The Therapy Place and we weren't able to get into the clinic that accepts our insurance so he is taking 2 months off.

We are doing Oils for Kodi and I found some good Omega 3 he will take and keeping him off the red dyes.

I just ran my first 7k and loved it. We are now getting ready for other 5k's when we get back home. I love it so very much it was a blast and felt so very good when I crossed the finish line.

We are going to DisneyWorld at the end of Sept for the Halloween 5k and than Aaron and I are doing a relay for the half marathon. Yes that is right I can't wait. We are starting to train now and the boys are even going to be running a little race for kids while we are down at Disney.

Sunday a day of Rest or so I am told

2010-11-07T07:58:00.002-06:00

We woke up early since it's daylight saves, and having a great morning when Kodi said he had to throw up now when he usually just coughs and spits into the toilet and all is well, but not today. So now we are dealing with a sick little boy. Finally understanding that he can't go to church or school tomorrow which is sad since they are going to a farm tomorrow and he will miss that.
Yesterday was a long day and it seemed that it was a never ending day. I was cleaning the living room and picking up toys when the boys decided to just undo everything I was doing. Aaron had gone on a scouting camping trip so that morning it was all me.
Friday night myself and the boys went to a 31 purse party where Kodi had a meltdown, not because it was time to go, but because some friends were trying to help and he just wanted me. So friday night ended on a not so good foot. I was actually very proud of him for I had told him in the kitchen that we needed to go and that he needed to make the right choice and not melt down. I just need to remind my friends that when I need help with my kids I Will let them know.

A Week in Review

2010-11-05T08:24:00.002-05:00

So it's been a while since I lasted posted, the seasons are changing which means in our house hold colds and more colds. So by the time it's bed time I am tired and just go to bed with the boys. Lately the boys have been up way to late and bed time is all off.

Kingston has a rash and I don't know what it's from so time to make a Doctor's appt to see what it is. Peyton has the cold and is crabby plus teeth coming in. All he does is cry all day and he wants me to hold him. I can say that my arms are getting stronger from all the holding I do.

Kodi is doing pretty good, we are seeing less meltdowns but when he has one it's a big one. He is doing great in karate still a white belt but he has three strips I am not sure how many strips until he has a belt test but he loves going each week.

This week my Grandma Alex had a stroke and I think she is getting out today, she is a wonderful women I just wish I would have taken the time when I was out in Idaho to actually spend more time with her and learn my history. Kingston doesn't look like he is 2 1/2 he looks like a 4 year old he is so very tall, and I have found that he is our family clown, he loves to make things funny. Aaron bent over to pick something up and Kingston came running up and wiped his nose on Aaron's butt and laughed "Daddy boggers on your butt" silly boy. He also got a drink of water and was walking passed me and looked at me looked at his water and laughed "don't even think about it KK" I told him. Just a silly kid, and I love him for that.

Peyton is starting to climb the starts which means we are in trouble. He was trying to get the bat cave from Kingston so I told Kingston to take the toy upstairs and play in the landing so he did and Peyton tried to follow him got up the first step and smiled with pride. He is getting big as well and we keep a close watch on his colds to make sure he is breathing good.

I am now the Primary President and it's a lot of work and time spent on my knees asking for guidance and help. I love my primary kids and I want them to have the same love for the gospel as I do.

We are going to the DC temple at the end of the month for the youth temple trip, I am so excited for my boys to see the temple and for them to see us using the temple and doing the work.

Kodi's story

2010-10-16T08:22:00.001-05:00

Please check this blog http://www.hartleysboys.com/ it's about sensory processing disorder and kodi's story is number 13.

Kodi also has his own blog that I update on how he is doing that is http://www.adayinthelifeofkodi.blogspot.com

more pics

2010-10-06T20:47:00.008-05:00

some pictures

2010-10-06T20:30:00.004-05:00

Rain and more Rain

2010-10-01T16:32:00.002-05:00

I have never really seen much of flooding but the past 5 days all we have seen is rain, and it's not like a small amount of rain, but down pouring almost all day yesterday. Streets are closed and schools for some was delayed at least 2 hours. Totally crazy we went to the commisary yesterday and when we went in it was clear and no rain by the time we came out it was down pouring, now that down pours last about 30 or more minutes so I was not about to wait it out, so we ran I was soaked it looked like I was just steped out of the shower with clothes on, it was crazy. The boys loved it KK said "it was awesome Mommy".
We have had a pretty good day so far we had friends over this morning and played and had a great time making the swing room a total mess with the peas we use for a sensory box they were all over the room and I just finished cleaning them up, it seemed that as I would clean KK would just pour more out or Peyton would wake up.

WOW a long time since last post

2010-09-28T14:20:00.002-05:00

Life is sure going by fast for us, it just seems like yesterday that Peyton was going to be born and now he is 9 months old I can't believe my little baby is that old. He is crawling all around and loves to crawl over to the steps and stand and pump his little fat leg to try and crawl up the steps. We are going to be in so much trouble once he is able to do that. Time to gate the stairs.
We have been teaching the boys about money and how it just doesn't grow on trees so if Kodi doesn't have a "issue" during the day he get a quarter at family prayer and KK gets a penny for not issueing as well.
They also get to earn money during the day for cleaning up and doing things that I ask them to. It works most of the time, but Aaron and I are tired of hearing I want this, so if Kodi doesn't have enough money than he can't get it. Last night he bought two quarter toys at Pizza Hut and loved that he was able to do that.
KK is being KK just a stinker who doesn't want to learn to potty train at all so that is a no go I was doing more laundry and clean up than just dealing with the dirty diaper. He still to be a cowboy and wear his cowboy boots all over.
We are finally getting into a routinue and life is getting easier.

Home again

2010-09-05T20:35:00.003-05:00

I am sad to say that we are home :( we had a wonderful time in Minnesota and loved every minute. We had hoped that Katy would have Baby Shane while we were home and we all would get the chance to hold and met him, but he decided he wanted to join the Solko family Friday afternoon, and I got the call Friday morning that Katy's water had broken and she was off to the hospital.
We got the message at 3:32 that he was born and both mom and baby where doing great. Kodi was so very cute he was looking at baby Shane's picture and shouted "I am so Happy" it was so cute I love when we are able to see the pure joy on his face. KK was happy as well "baby Shane baby Shane" he was yelling. Of course we had to tell them to keep it down but we all were very happy.
Peyton is doing great and is happy, he has his two top teeth coming in and is crawling all over we are no longer safe. He is getting faster and faster with crawling and the boys are learning to keep their toys out of his way. Now when he cries we don't hear any strider at all which is great. I am just praying we stay that way until the end of February.
I was able to see my childhood best friend when we were at home and it was go great to see her. We were always together and I love that we found each other again.
Kodi is doing pretty good with his SPD we did great today in church it was our first practise for our primary program which is on the 19th if this month. I was very happy with how well Kodi listened and did what he was told and did not jump up and down on the chairs. After the two hours of being in the chapel and church was over I had to met with the other primary teachers and the presidency so Aaron and the boys went walking around the church Kodi was bear walking and doing what he needed to do in order to get what input he needed. Than the rest of our day was great, Kodi played on the computer he loves PBS kids and he works in his "homework" as he puts it. KK took a nap with Aaron and Peyton. All in all a great Sunday.

Peyton

2010-08-28T09:25:00.002-05:00

The whole reason we are here in Minnesota was for Peyton to have his dilation, which was yesterday morning. We started our day up at 5 and off to the hospital by 6 checked in and the waited began. The phone finally rang and we headed down to the 1st floor to wait some more for the doctors to come in and explain what was happening and for us to sign off on the surgery. Peyton left us around 7:15 and we headed to the waiting room surgery started according the board around 7:32 by 8 Doctor Tibser was coming to find us. What he found was great, the airway was opened about a quarter more than what he did last time and so he went ahead and stretched it more, and because he is doing great he up the next surgery out anywhere between 4 to 6 months away. Now with that we will be heading into croup season which affects right where they have been stretching and that can do damage on it's own which for him it would not be good. So far he has been very good in VA and we have had no trips to children's I am praying we keep it that way. Peyton is doing great today and is happy and loving his family here.
Today is the birthday party for Kodi and the twins so that will be fun. So it's off to get presents and things for the party.

10 years later and three boys

2010-08-26T09:04:00.003-05:00

Today I made the very best decision I have ever made, I married Aaron, my bestfriend. We have had our ups and downs, time away from one another while he was in training for his job. Three wonderful boys a handful of moves and more to come. But I would not change anything.
We finally made it back home to MN on Tuesday and we love being here, the boys fell right back into their old routines and love playing with their cousins and family.
Last night my parents took our boys and we were able to just hang out and did a great job being without use.
now we are off to the mall of america for some birthday fun!

Boy are we in trouble

2010-08-22T21:35:00.002-05:00

We now have three boys so move around the house, yes that is right Peyton is now crawling. He is so very funny about it, he loves to do downward dog and than he crawls. He is very good at crawling backwards. Today he was so focused on getting the plant in the corner at church and he made it. Than I put him back and the crawled under the bench.
He just smiles and is happy, he also have 5 teeth coming in. The two front teeth are right there, we can see them and he is drooling so much, I have to put a bib on him so his chest doesn't get cold from all the drool.
Kingston is doing great he loves going to nursery today we let Kodi take KK to class and he walked right in and asked the teacher if he could help set up. No crying or anything such a big boy.
Kodi had a huge melt down before church and we were late but once it was over he was ready and he is fine. I had asked from other parents for some help with his meltdowns and one parent said they use the yoga pose lion face and it work for now, the boys loved making that face when they are mad at each other and Kodi is pretty good at it.
We have been praying for him to help him and us when he is melting down.

Going home

2010-08-21T21:57:00.002-05:00

Going home, that is right it's time once again for Peyton to have his stretching for his breathing which will be done on Friday morning. We should only be at children's for the morning and than we are good to go. I can't wait for us to be home for a little bit. The boys are looking forward to the visit as well.
We Will be driving for two days, and than be home for a couple we will be going to the state fair :) I can't wait for that. We will be celebrating Kodi's and the twins birthday as well. Just a big fun time and I am hoping that Katy's has her baby while we are home. I would love to be able to hold him.
We are still having Kodi tested for speech here, but we will not be putting him in kindergarten, I will be doing pre-k for him. He is just not ready, we have been having many meltdowns because he is stressed about school and scared. So I told him not this year will he be going to school and he is ok with it.
Kingston is doing great testing our limits but that is ok, both boys love having the swings up in the house and love swinging on them. Kingston is getting so very big he just won't stop growing he is a tall 2 year old. Loves doing everything his older brother does, Kodi is not to happy with that but that is the way it goes in our family.
Peyton is growing and getting bigger, he will have surgery this Friday and I am sure he will do just fine. He is cutting 5 teeth right now so we have a runny nose and is crabby but that is what come with cutting teeth. He is almost crawling so very close up on all 4 and gets around. He is able to push his self back to the sitting position after being on his belly and laughs and will reach out to us when he wants to be held.
My boys are growing up way to fast and I wish I could keep them little a bit longer. But I love every minute of being a Mom with them.

Pictures

2010-08-02T18:18:00.005-05:00

ENJOY THE PICTURES

TRANSFORMERS CAKE

BLOWING OUT THE CANDLES

KINGSTON EXCITED TO EAT CAKE

BIRTHDAY PRESENTS

SKATEBOARD AND GEAR

AFTER PAINTING

KINGSTON AFTER PAINTING

Happy BIrthday Dakota!

2010-08-01T19:48:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that it's been 5 years since I became a mom. My little boy is 5, he has grown so much during his time on this earth. I remember that day we brought him home, first time parents not knowing what we were doing, each day was a lesson for us to learn and it still is.
During the past 5 years we have added two other children and Kodi is a wonderful big brother. He loves his little brothers so very much. He has grown up so much and the leaps he has made with this speech is amazing. I remember when we came home from his 3 year old check up talking about how we would be getting him tested and I asked Aaron to give Dakota a blessing and in his blessing it talked about Dakota being able to ready for school and I see that blessing coming true. We are so very blessed to have the priesthood in our home and to have the gospel.
Thank you Dakota for choosing me to be your mom, I am very honored to have you for my son. Thank you for the past 5 years they have been a wonderful. I love you son.

Happy Birthday

2010-07-30T08:35:00.002-05:00

It's Birthday Month for us, my birthday was yesterday Kodi's birthday is on the 1st and Aaron's is on the 26th. We are so very excited to celebrate Kodi's 5th birthday. We are still getting settled in for the most part things are put away and have places. Now if I just could keep things clean all the time that would be great. It seems once I get an area clean the boys have messed it up and I have to start all over again.
We finally got a washer and dryer it only took 3 weeks but we finally got one. I love it, being able to do my laundry all day and when I want to. Aaron has switched to nights which has it ups and downs. The plus part is that we are or should be sleeping while he is at work, but that he comes home around 7:20 and goes to bed while we are up and the kids are awake. So far they have been good for him to sleep, but he does wear ear plugs. For me it's hard because we would tag team each other at night with the boys and now it's just me getting up and getting no sleep and I can't sleep when he gets home because he needs to sleep. We have 8 weeks of this. :)
Aaron did talk to his HM2 about getting to another floor or clinic in the hospital with different hours so we are praying he gets something else. When he is working the the morning 12 hours by 4 pm the boys are done with me and our live because crazy, they don't want to listen they fight and it's horrible.
We still have not found a school for Kodi we are told that because he will be 5 we have to put him in kindergarten and pre-k is not an option. We continue to say but he is not ready for Kindergarten and they just don't listen or care. I put a call into the principal and I am waiting to hear back from her so we can go and meet with her.
Happy Birthday to my Boys!

New Blog

2010-07-28T14:34:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone I have started a new blog and it's all about Kodi and his sensory progressing Disorder it's called A day in the Life of Kodi
We are now getting settled in and loving our house. The exciting news is that we finally got a washer and dryer only took 3 weeks but we got home. I love it, thank you craigslist. We are trying to keep the house clean and picked up which most of the time it works. I need some advice on how to get my kids to pick up. So I want to hear what you call have to say.
Peyton went to the Doctor yesterday for his 6 month check up which we are late one, but at least we did it.
He is in the 75% for height 95% for weight, he is growing and doing great. Yesterday the boys decided to paint and it turned into a full body painting experience. Yes that is right I couldn't believe it. At first I wanted to yell and get mad but I took a step back and thought and did it really matter it was washable paint so I let it go. They had a blast it was fun to watch and into the bath they went. All in all it was a good day yesterday.

Our New Home :)

2010-07-23T10:33:00.003-05:00

Yes you read the post correct, we are finally in a home. We did not buy the house in Suffolk, but instead went with Lincoln Military housing which put us in a wonderful new home. It was built last year and it's huge. We have a four bedroom home with 2 1/2 bath. We loved having a lot of space, the boys are able to play all over and not in just one room. We are also able to let Kodi have his fits and not worry about bothering others like we did in the hotel.
We have one room that is called the THINKING ROOM, where the boys are able to take a time out in when they are not listening. The room will soon have a swing up for them to swing and having some better input as they are screaming at us. Right now Kodi will take the little four drawer plastic bookcase and throw the toys out and get his anger out that way instead of trying to hurt me. Which I look at it as a good thing, we have tried blowing up balloons for him to pop, that worked for a little bit, I have tried bubble wrap for him to pop, so lets pray that this one works. I am thinking about putting some toys that won't hurt if I do get one thrown at me like soft blocks or stuff animals right now it has cars and some of their "guys" they play with.

As for getting Kodi's his speech and OT we are just waiting to hear back from children's if I don't hear by this afternoon than I am going to call and see what is up. We also have an appointment with a neurologist for the Boys they will be actually tested for SPD and we will see if we can finally get Kodi and Kingston the help they need. We have started to see some of the same actions and fits that Kodi has with Kingston, but other ones what Kodi doesn't have at all. So we are going to get him tested as well. Kingston will also be tested for speech I can understand him just fine since I speech KK, but others have a hard time understanding him.

We had decided to send Kodi to another year of pre-school, but as I feared the school system is not very good in Portsmouth actually it SUCKS. We have been trying to find out where he would be going for pre-k and Aaron talked to the Special ED director who said he was to old for the DAC center and that he would go the Mt Hermon so we called Mt Hermon and she said no he would go to the DAC center and since he is trying 5 he will be going to Kindergarten. Did she not understand that we were not sending to Kindergarten until he is 6 because he is so behind which is why we wanted to wait another year for school. But she really didn't want to talk to him on the phone and was not helpful at all. We have been looking at a private school for Kodi some of the nurses Aaron works with have their kids in this school and I believe it's the answer to our prayers for Kodi and his school.
Its called Chesapeake Bay Academy it is a small school about 150 kids but they all have learning disables. We have heard very good reviews and we are excited to go and meet with the director on Monday. If he does go to that school he will be gone all day and than I would only have to monster here with me.

Peyton is doing great, no sickness or problems breathing. He is HUGE we will be going in for his 6 month check (which one again we are late on) next week. I am sure he is like 25 lbs, in order for me to carry him around I have to put him in the baby carrier which I don't mind because I love wearing my boys. He too has loved being able to just get on the floor and roll, he is starting to rock back and forth while he is up on his hands and almost his knees. He is very good at rolling if he seeing something he wants to just rolls until he gets there. It's pretty funny to watch.

As for me I am good, this past week I was able to find a very good friend of mine on facebook. She was my childhood best friend and I am so blessed to have found her once more. I am still unpacking while trying to keep the house clean. I am made a goal to be a less "yelling" mom and try and be a loving but firm mom. I am always telling Aaron that we need to stop yelling be quite why should they be quite when we are yelling at them. Hello

That is about it since we have moved here I will upload some pictures of the house very soon.

The nightmare continues

2010-06-11T11:06:00.002-05:00

I am not sure if we will ever buy a home after our experiance with this house. We there were informed yesterday that we will be going to a mediator and if that doesn't work than the seller is going to sue us for not buying the house.
We have seen a JAG officer and a real estate lawyer as well as help from our friends and Family, we all can't believe it has gotten to this point. I will be submitting a formal complaint against our realtor for not doing his job. If we would have known the ins and outs of the contract and what the law said we would have never listened to our realtor.
Life would be much easier if people were honest. But the fact is that people are not and we are dealing with that right now. Hotel living is not that bad, the boys love swimming every day in the pool and just being with dad. Our days a super long when Aaron is working since he works 12 hour days and there is much for us to do downtown. I don't mind walking around and seeing what we can see and do down here. Yesterday we went down the pier and walked around watched them get ready for the some festival that is happening this weekend.
Life was not suppose to have gone this way for us but I am trying to keep a positive outlook and remember that the Lord knows what is going on and I have to keep my faith in him and know he is looking out for us. We will have learned some king of lesson after this and when I figure that out I will let all of you know. Until than I am doing my best and trying to keep our boys from not killing each other in the hotel room. I have to say way to much TV watch is happening as we speech and many meltdowns are happening because of that.

Virgina our new home

2010-06-03T14:30:00.002-05:00

Well I have to say that I do miss blogging, but with Aaron taking the laptop I did not have the time with three boys to wait for our desktop to load so I am just now getting to some updates.
First Peyton is doing great, his last surgery went very well, we were ready to spend the night and the Doc said we only needed to stay for 4 hours. That news made me very happy, for we were not beind admitted to the childrens just a short stay. The rooms are not as nice as the regular hospital.
We finally said good bye to our life in Minnesota and are now back together as a family. The drive was long but the boys did great. We were suppose to buy a house in Suffolk, but when we went to the final walk through we found our living room to be smelling very moldy. Of course the sellers agent was like no way there is no mold. Let me tell you folks I know what mold smells like I am allgeric to it and I was not a happy camper that night. Plus with all of Peyton's breathing problems I don't want to put him in that house. Needless to say we are stay at a hotel on base. We have told our agent we don't want the house and we are not going to sign, but they needed to get a mold inspector to look at the house and than we are suppose to go back on Friday and see the house. We have already made up our minds that the house is a no go. But we will go and the boys and I will stay in the car. Not only was I having sinus headaches all three boys coughed all night and had runny noses.
Aaron still loves what he is doing and loves that his family is here. Now if only we can find a place to live that would be great. Anywhere in the Norfolk area would be great :) We had purchased our fridge, washer and dryer on Monday since Lowes was having a great sale and now we have return them. I am a little sad about that for the washer and dryer was awesome, but is how it goes.
That is about it for us now. Aaron has tomorrow and the weekend off and than next week is his long week I hope we can find a place to live by monday. Hotel life with three boys is hard.

Update

2010-03-28T12:21:00.005-05:00

Here is our last trip to Childrens. Peyton was admitted on Tuesday night for breathing troubles. I was really hoping we were not going to stay but when his O2 Levels started to drop after he got his 3 neb treatments that was a guarantee stay. I was not sure how that would affect this surgery that was schedule for Friday. We first saw the ENT team Thursday morning since they had already been on rounds Wednesday and they did not make it up to see us. The two Docs we said no way for him to have this dialation, but as the day went on he was making wonderful progress. That night Dr Scott talked to our nurse for an update and she told him how well he was doing on his breathing treatments and he said they were going to keep him on the schedule for Friday. Friday morning came and we saw his ENT team Dr Sidman thought that Peyton was having the trouble from his stenosis and that we needed to do the surgery later that day.

I am so very grateful for our team of Docs, and the knowledge they have. He was right, once they were finished and were back in our room it was Night from Day with Peyton and his breathing. He had stopped retracking, no more rapid breathing, doing great.

Doctor Tibesar was very pleased with how he was able to mold the airway and they are hopping that with the next bronchoscopy we won't have to do a dialation, which is in about 6 or 8 weeks away. After that he will see Peyton in the office and release so we can move. Yes finally we will be moving to Portsmouth Va.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our family. We can feel the blessing from all of you.

Home Sweet Home

2010-02-24T22:44:00.003-06:00

Yes we are finally home :) It's been a very long 3 weeks for us. Peyton is doing great. For those who don't know. Peyton was kept in the hospital for an extra week because of some damage done to his treachea while he was on the ventilator. So we had to wait for the little dead skin to fall off and the ENT wanted to make sure we were in a "safe" place when that happened.
I am so very grateful for all of you who were praying for us. The prayers truely did work, Peyton was suppose to be still in the hospital this week, but it was a miracle in my book that the skin fell off and he was not in any distress at all. I don't know if I would have been able to handle it.
It was bad enough to have Aaron away when Peyton was put on the ventilator and having to see him and be so very strong for my little guy. I know that the Lord knew I would not been able to handle that again. Because of the skin that needed to come off there was a possiablity that Peyton would have to be back down in the PICU and have a treach put in and have it for 6 months to a year. That still might happen if the skin has closed up to much of his treachea. I really hope not. But we have the Best ENT in the midwest.
Again I am so very thankful for Dr Robison who has helped us from the beginning making sure we are getting the right treatment and the staff was doing a great job keeping me informed.
The boys are so very excited to have Peyton back home and to have Mommy once again. I can't believe we will be moving by the end of next month. Yes it has been a VERY long 10 months and I can't wait for it to be over. These last two months have been the longest, but it will soon be over.
Aaron graduates from FMTB on the 5th and than is off to Portsmouth, VA that same day. We are still house hunting and can't wait to find us a home. Kodi is set on getting another fish and dog. We know he will be getting a fish and not a dog, but soon enough he will find that one out.
Kingston is being a monster lately and trying to push every button of Tara's since she has been watching my boys. But he still love her and will mis her when we move.
I am hanging in and doing my best to keep everything together :)

Update On Peyton

2010-02-06T07:34:00.002-06:00

This has been a scary and exciting week for us, the exciting part would be that Aaron was able to join us while Peyton is down at Children's, and of course the scary part would be having Peyton being on the ventilator and having all the tubes in him. I am very thankful for his little illness just to be RSV and nothing more.
I have come to relay on what the Lord and his comfort while I was at Children's watching over my little one. I have to believe that it's how the Lord feels as he watches over us when we are in a time of need. Feeling scared for his little ones and uneasy as we make our mistakes. I am grateful for knowing the Lord has a plan for us.
The boys have enjoyed having Daddy home and being able to see and play with him. It's going to be very hard on all of us when Aaron flies back tomorrow. I keep praying the flight will be canceled with the huge storm that is hitting the east coast and we can having a couple more days with him and he stay until Peyton is off the ventilator. We are thinking maybe Monday that would happen. I would like to having Aaron still be with us until than, for my peace of mind. Seeing your little one with tubes and lines going into his little body is have hard and stressful on you. I don't do much of anything while I am sitting next to his bed, but hold him little hand or leg and when we get home at night I am so very tried I go right to sleep.
Yesterday was the first time the Kodi expressed any feeling of us going down to see Peyton, it's going to be very hard on him tomorrow when Aaron is not here. I am not looking forward to having to deal with Peyton and Kodi melting down. I am praying the Lord will bless all of us to be able to make it until Peyton comes home.
Peyton is making progress, his laps are doing much better, the CO2 levels are in the normal range and his pH level is normal as well. The x-rays are showing the RSV is starting to go away and clear up, his lungs are sounds a 100 times better and is coughing a lot which is very good.
Thank you for all your prayers we have felt them, and Peyton is getting better.

Peyton and RSV

2010-02-03T09:32:00.006-06:00

Peyton has given Mommy and Daddy a run for our money and a lot of worrying. He has RSV and was admitted to Children's on Friday afternoon. Our Peds called me Friday morning tellming me that she had been up worrying about us and wanted me to bring him to the ER and tell them she wanted him admitted so they could watch him, the first night wasn't bad and he was doing ok, the problem they were concerned with was he was pulling very hard when he was breathing so he was put on O2 and really didn't do much better all day, well that night was a very bad night for us. They put him on a different type of O2 where it is more forced into his lungs. He was on breathing treatments every 2 hours and it wasn't getting better. Needless to say I wasnt' getting any sleep either since the Dr and Resident were in our room every 1.5 to 2 hours. It was a stressfull night.
I was keeping Aaron informed while he was training and once they decided to send him down to the PICU, I received a call from Aaron telling me I needed to call the Red Cross and tell them I needed him home. So that is what I did and he came home Sunday night.
If I would have known how bad little Peyton was going to get I would have call the Red Cross right away on Friday, but I didn't.
When we got down to the PICU I saw the Dr and he wanted to put Peyton on a Ventilator and his as a central line in his neck. It was one the hardest days on my life, but with the Lord and his help I was able to be ok and be a support for Peyton. Life and my stress level has gotten much better since Aaron is home.
We spend the mornings with the boys and than head back down to the hospital in the afternoon and stay util bed time. He as a nurse 24 7 and they are wonderful. We also have a wonderful member of the church who works and he is making sure they are doin all they can for us. I am so grateful for him and what he is doing for us.
We don't know how long Peyton will be in the Ventilator or how long he will be at childrens.

Pictures

2010-01-24T22:18:00.002-06:00

Kodi at Inara's Party wearing a princess crown

Sonita at the party

Peyton

Some pictures

2010-01-10T19:41:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures I finally found the camera. Today I weighted Petyon and I couldn't believe that he is 9lbs, he is just growing so very fast, he is starting to get the "baby rolls".

Mommy Brain

2010-01-05T21:35:00.002-06:00

I had thought that with two boys and being pregnant that my Mommy Brain couldn't get any worse, well I was so very wrong. I can't remember anything to save my life. I was talking to Kodi's OT today about which CD was the next one for us to start, and by the time his sessions was over (which is only 50 minutes) I couldn't remember.
Before Peyton was born I was writing everything down and keeping track of things that way, but even now I can't remember to write anything down. I put our camera up high so Kingston wouldn't be able to reach it and now I have no idea where it went. I was going to try my best at night to get a picture during the day of the boys or at least Peyton so Aaron can see how big he is getting while he is at training and well it's not working so well.
All the boys are doing wonderful, I actually got some sleep last night which I am so very thankful for. Kingston only woke up once last night at the same time Kodi was going to the bathroom so the three of us snuggled in Kingston's bed and they both went back to sleep. Some time during the night Kodi went back to his bed, but it was nice not having to get up and go to another bed.
Kodi is doing so very well being back in school and having his routine down again. I Love it. I dont' know what we are going to do when we move and we will not have a school for him to go to. I have started to talk to his therapists on how to help him out the most with the move, we talk daily about moving and how life will be different and at time he is ok with it and other times he cries and tells me he doesn't want to move. I feel the same way I don't want to leave my family and friends, but at the sametime our family needs to be together. The Lord will bless us and will help Kodi with the move.

8 weeks that is all we have left

2010-01-04T21:34:00.003-06:00

It doesn't seem real to me that we are at the last leg of our training and being away from Aaron, but we have 8 weeks left. Aaron checked into FMTB and is not looking forward to this training one bit, for a couple of reasons. Of course being away from us is his biggest reason, he was not happy about being away from us this time. For me having him leave last time was the hardest, but I think with Peyton being here and Aaron not being able to be around his three wonderful little boys is very hard for him.

Speaking of Peyton, he is a wonderful little boy. He has already grown so very much in the past three weeks. He looks more like a new born and not this very small little baby. He is actually fitting into his newborn clothes, and LOVES to eat. I would say Peyton is probably 7 lbs maybe 8 lbs.

Kingston is having the hardest time with Peyton being here in our family. I try very hard to make sure I give him one on one time with Mommy. While Aaron was home Kingston would say Daddy take Peyton. But now that Aaron is gone it's just me again, I was able to just have some good one on one time tonight while I was putting him to bed, we read stories and just snuggled before he went to sleep.

Kodi loves Peyton, and is a very proud big brother. He talks to everyone at school about his new little brother Peyton, and loves to be a help when ever he can. I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful helper.

First Presidency Christmas Devotional

2009-12-06T18:32:00.002-06:00

I was able to talk with Aaron just for a little bit this afternoon, he was calling to let me know he would be going to break the fast and than to listen to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. As I was thinking about our 11 years together it occured to me that, we went to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional together. It was I want to say like our first date.
So we were talking about our first year at Ricks and how Aaron almost did not come back for the 2 term, and how different our lives would be if he would have not decided to stay. I am so very grateful that he did. He has made my life so much better. We have two wonderful little boys with one more on the way.
I am glad that the both of us are able to listen to this years First Presidency Christmas Devotional, we may not be together but we are still able to hear the message. I am getting the boys ready right now to sit down and listen to the message. We are so very blessed to have the gospel be the same where every you live. What a wonderful thing to have.
Aaron and I have learned so much during these 9 months that we have been away from one another. We have learned how much each one of us means, how much we truly do work as a team and how we depend on one another. The past 9 months have not been easy by any means for our little family. The boys truly miss their Dad and how he plays and loves them. He misses them as well, I told Kodi today that he is a just like Daddy and I thanked him for giving me hugs so I can feel Daddy's love and Kodi's love.
We are blessed to know that our family is forever and that we will always be together, whether we are apart or together. We are blessed to have these past two months go very fast. I am still not looking forward to being a "single parent" while Aaron is in training, but with the Lords help and prayers from our family and friends, we will be just fine. Both Aaron and I can feel the prayers and we thank you for them.

Let it Snow!

2009-12-03T18:47:00.003-06:00

Winter finally made it's way here, we woke up to snow, it was not a lot but enough to really stick but both boys thought it was pretty cool. Pa also put up a Santa in the front window last night, and when the boys woke up it was a pretty cool surprise.
When I was little we had a house elf that came and left us little gifts during the month of December, well now that I have kids he has decided to come and do the same thing for my boys. Kodi really gets into trying to see Nutmeg and will find his footprints around the house. We love when Nutmeg comes to visit us. Kingston is not sure really who Nutmeg is, but still like the toys he brings. Each boy got a new stocking and a toy, Kodi got two ornaments to paint and Kingston got a ball that lights up. Both were a Huge hit, of course they had to understand that Nutmeg only comes when they are going good, and listening to us.
It's the beginning of our weekend, and I am actually looking forward to this coming week. It was suppose to be our Huge Family trip to Disney world, but because of Peyton we ended up going in October and the rest of my family is getting ready to leave on Sunday, which means it will just be me and the boys. I love my parents for letting us living with them, but it's not us and it's not always how we work. So this next week it will just be us, I can't wait. The boys and I do very well being just the three of us. Than two weeks after that Aaron should be coming home for Peyton to be born and Christmas.
Kingston is not liking the fact that I am putting my foot down when he is starting to act up, but I have to nip it in the butt now before Peyton comes. He is starting to understand that the No hitting rule will get him a spot on the stool for time out.
Dakota is also seeing that I am putting my foot down with him as well, and did very well with the No TV rule in the morning, we will see how well he does with that tomorrow, but this morning was a great morning. I have been praying lately that Kodi and I have better morning, he is pushing all my buttons and getting me very upset very fast which is not good for me or Kodi.
The Lord is blessing me with better patience and as I was listening last night after my prayer I was flooded with ideas on how to make our days go better with Kodi and I am so very grateful for the Lord and being able to talk with him and tell him my problems and concerns. We are so blessed to know that he will never stop listening to us.

Families what can I say! Warning letting some steam off.

2009-12-02T13:57:00.004-06:00

I can not believe that the Christmas Season is here. My boys have been watching a lot of Santa movies, Kingston loves Santa and Kodi is at that age asking for EVERYTHING he sees on TV.
Last night was our Christmas Relief Society Party, it was a lot of fun, and a very good time. Kodi and I did not get home until almost 10 after cleaning up and making sure everything was good for us to leave the building. They ladies in our committee won't let me do a lot since I am about ready to pop. So I just helped in any way I could.
This is my favorite time of year, as most peoples, not because of the presents and Santa, but because for me it is a time that my family is together, we pull together and make our own memories. This year will be a different one, for we always spend Christmas Eve with my Dad and two wonderful young brother and sister I have to say I am not happy at all with the choices my "Father" is making, it was hard growing up and being up on the back burner and having to deal with not being important at all. The three of us have learned that if we want him in our lives it's us making the calls for him to come over not him. It's very hard to sit back and which him start to make those mistakes again the big sister wants to protect them from getting hurt. My Father informed us that he will not be around for the holidays and will be out in Idaho with his new girlfriend, spending that time with her. Of course he wanted Tara to call the siblings and let her tell the bad news. The part that is one of the hardest is that he is drinking again, I truly believe he thinks we have no idea that he is drinking, but when he continues to call us all the time telling us the same things over and over again is sad. At first I did not mind talking to him, and now I just get very upset, my poor sister, is the one who he has been calling 5 or more times a day to talk to her, and doesn't have a clue that he has already told her everything.
I pray each day that he will get a clue and stop what he is doing, but I also know that it's a choice he is making. The little girl in me wants to him to stop and becoming a wonderful father to Eli and Ashley and not have them feel those feelings as I do, but I can only pray for him.
It also makes me so very mad that his new girlfriend HAS no IDEA this is a problem, she just thinks he is inactive member and that she is going to reactive him. She has no idea that he is an Alcoholic and that when he is not in Idaho with her he is at home drinking. She thinks we have this GREAT relationship with him, let me tell you I have never had a great relationship with my Father. When I think of what a father should be it's not my dad that I think but of my step dad and how he is always here for me and my boys. He may not agree with our choices but he is always willing to help us out and loves us so very much.
At times I truly hate being a grown up and the decision that comes with it. It truly does sadden me that he is throwing his life away to drinking. He has 7 soon to be 8 wonderful grandchildren who love him and he has 5 wonderful kids. Who do need him.
This year we will be spending Christmas Eve with Eli and Ashley, at Tara's house and making a very good memory with them. I am so very blessed to have them in my life as my brother and sister.

Another day down

2009-11-24T23:16:00.002-06:00

It's been a fair good first part of the week for us. Dakota only had school on Monday, which is was very sad with he loves school and I tried to explain why he wasn't going the rest of the week and it did understand "Thanksgiving break".
But the rest of his week is pretty normal to what he usually does. I talked to Speech Therapist about his re-eval and she is very happy with how well he scored on his test. He is in the "normal" range for children his age. Which both Aaron and I are very happy about, Dakota has been working so very hard the past year, and it has really paid off. When you talk to him you can tell that is still has a long way to go with his speech, and some words are hard for him. But he is getting it. The Lord has blessed him so very much with all the help he is getting. We are on Disc 3 now for his music therapy and he likes this one so I pray it won't be a problem of getting him to listen to it twice a day. But we will see.
Kingston is loving the word "NO" and is continuing to put more and more words together. He goes and goes all day long. He right now is my snuggle bunny actually both boys love crawing into my lap and just hugging me and being with me. I love it, I believe all of us need that extra love right now.
We ran to target tonight so I could get another foam pad for my bed, I think I have a total of 3 on my bed, My hips are so very bad at night, and I can't wait to be able to sleep on my back. I knew that Kingston was in need of some new shoes, and I thought maybe Kodi was as well, so of course when we went to look at shoes for Kingston, Kodi found some too and than told me his tennis shoes were too small for him. Which they are, so both boys got new shoes and love them.
I did see the OB on Monday and things are good and Peyton and I are just fine. We did talk about pre-term labor, and the signs to watch for it, since I am 33.5 also 34 weeks along. Which I can't believe.
We continue to talk with Aaron in the afternoons on the web cam and the boys love it. It truly makes a difference being able to see him. He is doing well, a little tired of all of the filing he is doing at the clinic, but at least he is not sitting around and waiting for them to decided on where he will be while he is stationed in NC.

A pretty good weekend

2009-11-23T09:22:00.002-06:00

The weekend for us was a pretty good one. We did nothing all weekend long, my parents went on a small trip for the weekend, and it was just my boys and I. I loved it, and I think they did too. The best part of the weekend was on Saturday when Aaron got his web cam up and running and we were able to see him and talk with him. The boys loved it, Kingston just loved being able to see Daddy, and talk to him. Kodi showed Aaron all of his projects he has done in school, and enjoyed just talking to him.
I think on Saturday we spent a good portion on line the boys just played in the computer room while we talked. They did not want to leave Daddy. It was Stake Conference on Sunday, and I was not up to taking both kids without help and battling Kingston running around, so it was another day of just resting. Kodi was not feeling well and so it was good for just him just to rest, he is back to his good old self today. Ready for School and playing.
I go and see the OB today which starts the weekly appts, I can't wait. I am so very ready to have Peyton. We have about a month left and he will be here. Both Aaron and I are very excited.
I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, and Iwant to thank you all who pray for our family while we are apart.
Thank you!

Let the nesting begin

2009-11-20T23:31:00.002-06:00

I can certainly tell that my pregnancy is coming to and end, all this week I have been nesting. It's not too bad yet, but all I want to do is having this clean, of course once I start to clean and organize something I get very tired and stop. Needless to say I am not taking the nesting to far yet.
Kingston is sleeping now in his bed until about 4:30 and than will wake up looking for me. I am hoping and we can brake this before Peyton comes next month. Dakota is sleeping great, he loves his "tunk bed" as he calls it. Kingston does thing he is a big boy now that he can climb down the stairs of Dakota's bed.
At school Dakota has been working very hard on the spelling of his name. He has figured out that Kodi start's with a "K" now where we go he looks for a "K" and tells me there is a Kodi store. It's pretty cute, he loves school so much and hates when he doesn't have school.
Kingston is putting more and more words together, tonight we went swimming with Tara and Scott's family at my cousin's apt and Kingston was swimming with Tara and said "scott, look at me" Tara could not believe it. He is just talking away, I can now stop worrying to much about Kingston having the same speech problem as Kodi.
Both boys love sitting next to me and talking to Peyton, Kodi will put his hand on my belly and tell me that Peyton is crying and waiting his Big Brother. KK just say's "baby" and pats my belly.
Both boys are missing Aaron a lot this week. I am not sure what is going on with that, but KK has been calling for Daddy during the day and then crying afterwords. Dakota just will telling me he is sad, and misses Daddy and that is why he is having a fit.
He is making a great progress with Jenn his therapist he seeing for missing Daddy. They work great together and just with in a month you can tell that she is really helping him. The ideas on who to keep him calm and use his words are great, and Kodi is starting to be able to tell me when he is upset and will not just start to "fight" me but rather go in his room and take some time until he calms down. Of course he still does have some fits and is out of control but no where near what it was before.
I am so very grateful for Jenn's help with Dakota. I am grateful that I am able to help him out, as his mother I am taking the steps that Aaron and I both feel he needs. We have a wonderful little boy and I am always thanking the Lord for his help with Dakota, and for pointing us in the right direction for getting Dakota the help he needs.
I can not believe that Thanksgiving is around the corner, and how each and every day the boys and I talk about why we are thankful for the thing we have.

Counting down the days!

2009-11-18T12:56:00.002-06:00

I went last week to see my OB who is wonderful, she wants to make sure that Aaron will be able to be home when Peyton is born, which means she will induce me before 39 weeks if his lungs are ready. We both are praying that Peyton will be ready to come out.
Aaron is now in NC and working finally, he was moved to a different side of the base and only have 5 other sailors with him. He was not to happy about having to leave the Navy side of the base, but what can you do. He is processing H1N1 paperworkd today for the Marines. At least he is keeping busy, last week he was just sitting around waiting for them to move him. Now he actually is doing something.
This month is going by pretty fast and I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost here. We thought for a minute that maybe just maybe we would be able to fly Aaron home but as we looked at the price of the tickets we quickly decided that was not going to happen. So we will just have to do with talking to him on the phone. I am not sure what he will be doing.
He really likes the ward that he was in and hopes that with this move he will not have to switch wards.
The boys are doing great, Dakota is loving school and enjoys going each day, I get asked all weekend long is it time to go back to school? He has made a huge improvement with this Sensory Processing Disorder, Megan his OT is very happy with how well he is doing and loves the progress, we are now working again on his eatting, it's a long road but I hope that he will continue to do as well as he is diong with this other skills they are working on.
He also will be working on Hand writting that is going to be very hard thing for him and Megan wants to start now and see if we start to help him now instead of later.
Kingston is growing like a weed, He is wearing wither 2T or 24 months and is so very tall. He is starting to put 3 word sentences together for me. He asked me today " I want Gum". He wants to be just like Kodi all the time. I have moved out of "Our" bedroom and into the playroom and turned the boys room into a playroom. We have been trying to figure out how to build the ball pit, but with us moving we all thought it would be best to put that on hold until we know what our next house will be like. So we bought Kingston a full bed that is under Kodi's bed and the boys can jump off onto KK's bed, they love it. I will have to take a picture and post it. Kingston is also now sleeping in his own bed, and makes it most of the night.
I am grateful for being able to have my own bed back, I am not sleeping well at night my hips are killing me and I turn about every 3 hours each night. But soon enought Peyton will be here and I won't have to worry about that.

Pictures of Disneyworld

2009-11-04T19:49:00.002-06:00

Disneyworld

2009-11-04T19:36:00.002-06:00

We had the wonderful chance for our family to head to Disneyworld after Aaron was done with "A" school. It was a trip that was suppose to happen in December with the rest of my family, but because I will be due at the end of December or the beginning of January my OB told me I would not be making that trip. In the end it ended up working out just great because we were not sure that Aaron would be able to join us in December for our family trip. So we worked it out that we took our Disney trip at the end of the Oct, the rest of my family is still going at the beginning of Dec and they will have a wonderful time.
The boys loved it, Kingston was not sure about characters when they came up to see him but as long as they were far enough away he was totally cool with them. We took a lot of time to let Dakota just play at the soft play area's in Disneyworld and he loved it. We also found out about the Special needs pass you are able to get. Which made our trip so much easier. This pass let us use the fast pass lane and than use the wheelchair access. Dakota was so much better when he was not around so many people and was able to have a quiter area to wait in line. He rode most of the rides, we found it was much easier just to take him on the ride than to ask him which one he wanted to ride. Even though he has been to Disneyworld 2 times before this it was still all new. He really liked splash mountain and thunder moutain rollercoaster, but his favorite ride would be the Andy's Room ride at Hollywood Studios. I think he rode that ride like 8 times in a row and if we would have let him he would have continued to ride it. At Ecpot he loved Test Track, how fast it went and it was just a great ride for him.
The one show we did take him to was Fantasmic he loved. It was loud for him but we put his head phones on and that made all the difference for him, he just loved how Mickey won over the dragon. Kingston did like to ride as many rides as he could. He did not like waiting for Daddy and Kodi to go on the big rides and leave him out.
We spend a good deal of time at the soft play areas they have in all the parks, both boys really loved that. Which for us was a life saver when both boys had enough and they needed to get down and play. Over all it was a wonderful trip and we cant' wait to go back in 2013 with Aaron's family.

Our little Haleigh

2009-10-19T20:17:00.002-05:00

Last night my Mom got a call from Katy telling us know they were meeting Haleigh and her Dad at the ER. Her legs were swelling up and her left arm was hurting so much she did not want to move it.
Adam being a PT was very concerned for her because he said it sounded like it was her heart. We patiently waited for the updates to know how our little Haleigh was. She was admitted to the hospital and was waiting for the Dr at 10:30 and by midnight, the dr said he did not know what was going on and waited her Transfered over to childrens.
By 5 am she was relased and sent home. What they found was that she has Henoch-Schönlein Purpura (HSP). Her legs are still very swollen and she will be at home for at least this week and is not suppose to be moving around. A lot of TV Time for that little girl.

It's been a week

2009-10-19T20:09:00.002-05:00

Last week was not too bad for us. Kodi did have some melt downs but the more I read about Sensory Processing Disorder the more I understand how to help him out. We are trying to get him tested for SPD but the insurance is not sure if it is under mental health or not. But he is having a great time anyway. We are still trying to figure out his sensory room. I did today go and get a very cool new bounce toy for him. It's a little tykes bounce and spin toy, he loves it.
Kingston is Kingston, I am not too sure how I like his little attitude he has, and he is learning that I do not put up with a lot of his screaming or hitting me. Today he has really let Kodi have it, and has spent some time in the time area.
Aaron is doing well, he is still in the ER for the last two days and really does enjoy everything he is learning.
Really not much has been going to since the last time I posted. We head down to pick up Aaron on Thursday and than we have Daddy back for 13 days before he heads out for another 4 months of training.
I am not looking forward to that at all, but with prayers and my faith, I know our little family will get through this long period away from each other.

Another Week down two more to go

2009-10-12T07:59:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful week ending with Aaron coming home on Friday and will be leaving this afternoon. We have loved Daddy being home, being able to play and feel like a complete family. Our boys are so very happy, Dakota has not left Aaron's side, at all expect for the the Birthday Party he went to yesterday. It was his very first "friend" birthday party. I was not sure how well he would do but as I walked over to our neighbors house I was talking to their Dad and he said the party was a great success. All the kids play very nicely together Kodi was a great little partier and no problomes:)

Of course once I got inside he was down stairs playing with all the toys and did not want to leave. I him out of the house and he wanted Daddy. So I put him down and got Aaron, to help Dakota make the transition alittle easier, Daddy made it better, brought Dakota inside got their jacket's on and went outside to play and swing. Swinging always makes it better. The rest of night was a great night.

We had more family come over, it was great to see Erica, Jon, Melissa and Jeff. Of course the boys loved seeing them. Tara and her family came over after dinner and all the kids played and played. Dakota has done a wonderful job with Daddy being home. It's going to very hard this afternoon when I go and pick him up from pre-school and there will be no daddy.

But we have a count down going to go and get him. It has been a long 6 months of not having Aaron around.

Kingston loves his Daddy and melts down anytime Aaron walks out of the room and he is not with him. He too will miss Aaron and unlike Dakota doesnt understand why Daddy is not always here. But with love and prayers both the boys will be ok. Today will be some Kingston and Daddy time when we drop Dakota off at school.

Kingston this week had two of his little finger shut in the bathroom door, Thankfully Aaron come home and took care of him. It's very nice to have someone know what they doing when it comes to emergency medicine. Kingston was very good for Aaron sitting on his lap as he clean out his finger nail and clipped off the part of the nail that was falling off.

Kingston also had this 18 month check up on Wednesday, he is growing just fine. He is in the 75% for all of the charting. Dr Green is very happy with how well he is growing.

I am doing well, I also had my Dr appt for this month and Peyton and I are doing just fine. I took the glucose test and it was negative. Which I am so very happy about. I was not worried in any way. With my next appt and the ones following that I will be down to seeing the Dr every two weeks for a month and than I am down to once a week. It's so very crazy how fast this pregancy has gone for us.

Aaron has had a wonderful time being home. He has enjoyed every moment with us. He is also almost done with "A" school. This is his last two weeks of training for this round. He will be in clinicals at the VA for the next 8 days. Than we will be leaving on the 22 to go down for his graduation and take him home with us on the 23 :). He has been working very hard and has been learning so very much. His next stop before we are stationed is his FMTB training (Field Medical Training Battalion) which is in North Caroline at Camp Lejune. This training is only 8 weeks long, but they have him in holding for two months. This around of training we will not be able to visit it for I am not able to travel after Nov 28. We are praying he is able to come home for the holidays!

That is what we have been up too this past week. It been a much needed family time and we are looking forward to our up coming trip to Disneyworld on the 26th.

First week of Preschool!

2009-10-04T12:31:00.002-05:00

Well the first week of school is down, and he loved it. Dakota was a little disappointed when he did not go to school on Friday. Needless to say he drove me crazy on friday. I love that he goes to school for 2.5 hours Monday - Thursday, but I don't know what do with him on Friday, Thankfully Aaron will be home this friday and that wont' be a problem.
I also went to see his new Therapist to help him with Aaron being gone, I can't wait for him to start seeing her and for her help. We will be going again on Friday with Aaron. Dakota is doing much better, we had a great week. He did not have any screaming Fits, I have stopped all his TV watching and now he only gets to watch either Playhouse Disney or PBS. Which he doesn't mind at all. I also have been working on making the playroom a sensory room for him. It's a HUGE task to take on but he really needs it.
We are looking at making a ball pit for the corner of the room, and than maybe to put up a swing for the rainy days and when the cold winter comes. Aaron will be putting up the fish light for him in the sensory room and making it more a comfort for him. I am totally grateful for all the help me gets from his therapist. They truly are a blessing to us. I have been doing his sensory diet, brushing which is now down to 4 times a day, and using the oil Mood Magic for men, which he likes to put him his feet. All of these things are making a HUGE difference in him. He is also able to tell me when he needs to go outside and swing, which is a true blessing that he can express when his body is needing that. He is always a much happer little boy after we have been swinging. I have learned that we will need to get another dark swing from Ikea for KK loves Kodi's swing, we have many fights over the swing and KK is the one who doesn't win. :(
He is working so hard, on everything he is learning. I have been doing a lot of reading on Sensory Processing Disorder which is making a whole lot of sense to me. It is explaining a lot of why he is melting down and how I need to help him out. I bought two books one is The Out of Sync Child and I can't remember the other book. I am reading the The Out of Sync Child and Tara is reading the other one. Than we will switch and read the other ones. I am grateful for all the resources that are here for us to use.
Kingston has decided to cut 6 new teeth I got him to sleep in his toddler bed next to my bed and than he started to cut his teeth. So of course he is back in our bed and right next to me. Which means I am not getting a good night sleep since I am switching back and forth from side to side. My hips are hurting most of the night, and than I have KK wanting to have me cuddle him. KK is growing so much he is already wearing 24 months and some 2 T clothing. He is a bean poll, but he my saving grace at times.
He did a great job at Kim's house on Friday when I went to see the Therapist. He was a trooper and even took a nap:) Which he never does when we are out at peoples houses. He also will eat anything you feed to him. He loves tomatoes right now and will ask for them, I dont' know where he gets that since I don't like them at all.
I am hanging in here, I am gratful that Aaron is coming home on Friday and will be with us until Monday afternoon. Than we have two weeks left of "A" school and we than go down and get him. Our time with "A" school is coming to and end, and it's been a long road, and when I look at it went by some what fast. I am getting bigger out little guy Peyton is growing and letting me know he just like his brothers. Kodi loves to talk to my belly and "wake up" the baby. KK will even say "baby" and point to my belly.
Well that is about it for this past week. I think I am doing pretty well if I update once a week, I am trying to get back to posting daily but who knows with the way Kodi acts up.

Man Time Flies

2009-09-28T20:56:00.002-05:00

So I have not been good at all updating the blog, since I sent Aaron the laptop I can't stay up late in bed and blog and surf anymore :(
He was telling me the other day that he was looking at our blog and how much he missed the kids. Which than he told me to update it. So here hun I am updating the blog.
Dakota has been having a really hard time lately with Daddy being gone. He has been going into HUGE fits and wanting to punch and kick me when he is mad. I have talked to his two therapist and they both thought I should have him see a behaviorist and that is what he will be doing. I actually go and see one on Wednesday to talk about what is going and to see when can met with her. He also will be seeing the School behaviorist and I hope that with their help and the help from the Lord that he will be able to put his anger feeling in the right place, and trust that Aaron and I are telling him.
He is such a wonderful little boy and is a true blessing to our family. He getting better with his speech and loves going to his new speech class. He also started preschool today and LOVED it. Which we are praying will help him understand and cope with life a little better. He is in school for 4 days Monday - Thursday 12:30 to 3 so I get a good break which today Kingston and I took a well needed nap. I had planned on doing some work and cleaning up the house, but my body was telling me different so I snuggled Kingston and we both slept it was great!
Kingston on the other hand is doing great with Daddy being gone, he loves to see pictures of Daddy and talking to Daddy on the phone. He has turned into a biter, I don't' know if that is because he is cutting 5 or 6 teeth but when he gets mad at Me or Kodi he will bit you and it hurts. But when Kodi is having a fit Kingston will come and put his little arms around my neck and give me a great big hug. The Lord knew I needed Kingstons little spirit to give me more strength and to remind me why I wanted to be a mom when life is so very hard.
I am trying my best to keep my head up and keep my spirits up for the kids. At times it's hard and I don't want to, but most of the time I will pray to the lord for help and he gives it to me.
Aaron has started this Labs this week and we are down to less than a month until he is done with "A" school. He will be coming home in two weeks for the long Holiday Thank you Columbus :) we can't wait to see him.
I thank everyone who keeps our little family in their prayers for they truly do help!

It's a Boy!

2009-08-27T22:35:00.003-05:00

Yes that is right, I found out today that I am having another little boy! Both of us are very happy about this, maybe the next one will be a girl. Kodi wasn't sure at first about having another brother, but once he saw the picture he seemed ok with it.
They are saying my due date is January 13,2010 but if little one is like our other two boys he will be coming 10 sooner! I can only pray, he comes eariler, it would make life a litte easier for us since Aaron is suppose to be going to training sometime in the middle of January to the end of January.
We should be finding out more about the big move next week. I can't wait.

Only two more months at least that is what we are hoping for!

2009-08-27T09:55:00.002-05:00

I am sorry I have not been keeping up with the blog. Life is a little hard Dakota is having a really hard time with Daddy being gone, which in turn is very hard on me. We went down last weekend to visit Daddy and Dakota had meltdown after meltdown. Which we have continued since we have been home.
I am very stressed out from this, I finally emailed his OT to find out what I can be doing different to help him out even more. We have increased his brushing to be 3-5 times a day, we will be starting his music therapy again, and doing a lot more sensory diet each day. He is having a huge overload of emotion and doesn't know how to deal with missing daddy.
Aaron is a huge help with talking to me each night and helping me get thur the day, he right now has the outside look for helping Dakota. After all is said and done, Dakota just misses Daddy, and Daddy misses him.
Yesterday was our 9th anniversary and I am looking forward to having 9 more wonderful years ahead of us. I am very lucky to have married my best friend, one who understands me and who is willing to help me when I need it. He is a wonderful man, a wonderful father.
I am so very proud to be married to him and how hard he works at making sure we are taken care of. He is very blessed to have two wonderful little boys, and one on the way. We love Daddy very much and can't wait until Oct 23 to see him at least for 14 days!

Portsmouth, Virginia here we come

2009-08-22T08:50:00.002-05:00

Aaron picked his orders yesterday and chose Portsmouth Virginia he will be stationed at the hospital. He also was given the FMTB which means he will be trained to go with the Marines. This was not an option for him everyone in his class was given this order.
Sometime in January he will be starting his 7 week long training for the FMTB. We are not sure when he be leaving for Portsmouth sometime after he is done with "A" school. When we will move the family down we are not sure on that as well since our little one is due sometime in January. We are looking foward to being together again.

Living Life

2009-08-20T10:45:00.006-05:00

I have not been so very good at posting lately, I am pretty sure it's because I don't have my laptop anymore so at night I do my work and than go to bed. I am so very tried by the end of the day, running after two boys and being pregnant is very hard work.

I hope Aaron likes the pictures of the boys, he usually gets pictures from me on his cell phone when we are out doing things, but I thought I should post some of us playing outside from the other day.

Last year Kingston got a bubble machine and he loves it. Jon Erica's Boyfriend so very nicely came over on Tuesday to Fix my Durango, and while he was doing that the kids played out in the front, I usually don't let Kodi play in the front yard for a number of reason but since Jon was out there and Xander had brought over his Razor we took all the kids out to play. Boy did they love it.

Grandma even brought out the little Harley for the three younger kids to play on. Of course we unplugged the battery. Kingston does know how to push the gas peddle down but doesn't know how to steer the Motorcyle. A very big problem, but he sure does love riding it. He loves going backwords. Silly little boy.

We also found out that Max loves to stand on the Harely. Boys will be boys.

Aaron is doing well, we find out tomorrow where he will be stationed. I can tell you that this week has been a very long week for us, I really hate waiting sometimes. He is doing great on all his tests and I am very proud. He has one tomorrow, he is really enjoying what he is learning. I thought it was funny, I called him the other night because Kingston had fallen off of Kodi's bunk bed stairs, and wanted to talk to Daddy. Of course Aaron was concerned and wanted to make sure KK was ok. He was asking me all kinds of questions. I told him No blood, I dont' see any bumps he is ok. Don't worry about KK he is just fine. "So you think you know all on medical stuff now that you are in that field"? I teased him

"No you probably know more than me right now, but I soon will know more than you." He replyed. I got a good laugh from it.

We can't decide it we should head out tomorrow to see him or not, the boys really miss Aaron and Kodi continues to let me know that he is missing his "daddy"

Kodi tells me that the reason he is acting up is because "I miss my Daddy that is why". I will post where we will be stationed tomorrow! We are living life and loving it at least most of the time!

Summer Fun

2009-08-11T21:34:00.003-05:00

Yes the summer heat came back to us. I was complaining about the cooler weather we were having and now I wish that weather was back. But we are making the best of the heat. The kids played outside in th sprinkler and had a blast.

Kingston was being pretty funny with the sprinkler he would bend over with his butt sticking out and wait for the sprinkler to it his little bum. He than would scream and run away and he continued to do that for about 15 minutes he thought it was the best.

Dakota on the other hand was more about fighting the water with his sworn and snow shield. Actually the snow shield is his sled that the kids like to try and go down the hill on, they have not figured out that it doesn't work when there is no snow. We all just laugh at them.

Aaron has another test tomorrow and has been study for that, I went to the Dr today and the baby and I are just fine. She is very happy with me and how I am doing. Which is great to hear, at the end of the month we will have our US and find out what we are having.

Dakota had a great day at TTP he is doing so well, I am so very proud of him. They have now done two times of feeding with him to get him to just play with some new foods. He made a brocoli (Human as he put it) person than tried to squish the brocoli with his strong teeth, he only did that one, but he squished the peas three time in his teeth :)

After the OB appointment I headed over to Cub and got some frozen vegs to help him with his feeding to do at home. I picked up some snack paks for him to use for the painting and some green apple sauce as well. They want him just to play and explore the food right now, so we will have some fun days ahead of us with that.

The kids first really big storm

2009-08-09T15:46:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a very muggy day for us. We started off the day with

rain and no sun. Which for us was a bummer since we were heading over to Julia's party. So needless to say I did not bring the kids swim suits for the little pirate pool. Of course once we got over to their house the Sun was out and it was beatiful.

Carrie had the kids put their own toppings on the cupcakes which they loved.

Kingston decided he was going to head over to the little pool and go swimming I stopped him once, but the second time he was faster than he. Clothes and all he was soaked from head to foot. Of course he loved it. Thankfully I had some swim diapers in the car for him to wear. Out of his wet clothes and into his swim diaper he went.

Kodi decided not to change into the pair of shorts I had for him, but to stay in his pants. By the end of the party each kid had a balloon and they were playing with them outside. It was a great party and they loved it.

Of course Kingston fell asleep on the way home, and only got a 30 minute nap in for the day. But he was happy to see Grandma and Pa. Grandpa had hurt his back on Friday and is moving pretty slow. Kingston found Pa's hat and was wearing it around until they left for the store and Dr office to have Pa's back checked out.

Aaron has duty this week and is not allowed to leave the building unless for chow, and an hour of exercise. So he has been inside studying and playing on the computer.

Another week down

2009-08-07T08:51:00.003-05:00

My very good friend Dana lost his father last night, I do not know what happen. All I know is how grateful I am to know the gospel to know that my Family will be together again. What peace that bring to you when you lose a loved one.My prayers go out to the Ooelker Family for peace and comfort during this lose.
This week has been a normal week for us, just living life and doing what we do best which is just playing. Today is raining so we are going to head over the mall and let the kids play. But since it's raining it means other Mom's will have the same idea as we do.
Last night we said good bye to a wonderful family in our ward. They are moving out to Utah and we will miss them so very much. I had the wonderful chance to work with Kathleen when she was in the RS president she is a wonderful women one who is so very selfless and comes to the Lords call when she is needed. I love their family so very much. I wish the best of luck in their new state!
Aaron did very well on his test he passed and now has off base liberty plus he gets to wear normal clothes and not his uniform all day long. I had sent him some extra shirts which he is very grateful about. He and some friends went the mall yesterday, but he said with the cost of the taxi and dinner it was a trip that he won't do very much. He next test is Tuesday and that he has another one on Friday of next week.
I am feeling pretty good right now, but it's allegery season for us and my allergies are kicking my butt. Yesterday if the kids wanted to go out and play they could, but I was not going to go out with them . Which meant for Kingston he wasn't able to go out to play. He was not a happy little guy for that reason. Maybe the rain will take some of that pollen count down for a day or so!

More Sunshine

2009-08-04T21:13:00.002-05:00

Yes another great day for playing outside. We went to Target to pick up Kodi's backpack for his speech class he has this fall, he is not looking forward to going to a new school, and is very sad that he will not be with his old Teacher Jane. I am hoping with a lot of talking about before hand and preparation for the new Teacher and school he will be just fine.
I talked to Meghan today his OT and she is very happy with the progress he is making, we have three new goals to be working on, the first one is to be able to jump with both feet together. He jumps with either one foot in front, or both feet apart. Second goal is for him to be able to throw under hand, he is able to throw over hand just fine, but can't do under hand. The third working on eating more fruits and vegs. With his sensory issues eating a variety of foods is a challenge for us. Today was the first day they tried some new foods with him, they played with some cherry applesauce drawing in it, he took a bit of a green bean and than spit it out, and played with a little kernel of corn. The program they use with the kids is called the SOS Approach to Feeding I am very excited about this program for Kodi and all that goes with it.
Both of his therapist love how much he has done with in the past 9 months he has been there. I am very thankful for both of them and the hard work they put into helping Kodi. He is a totally different little boy now that we know how to deal with his Sensory Issues and are able to help him.
Kingston has no fear once again it was brought to our attention as he tried to jump off the back steps. He just wants to be like the big kids so much, he follows them around and tries to do everything they do. I caught him again climbing up our bikes and sitting on them trying to ride. He is so very silent when he is getting into trouble, right now his favorite place to be in sitting in the fridge. He loves to open the door and sit in front of the crispers. I am not sure why, but he loves it. LOL
Aaron takes his next test tomorrow and with that test comes more off bast liberty, he is very excited for that. He has a very long day today. He was up at 1 am to get ready for his watch from 2-4 am and than stayed awake all day and is now studying for his test tomorrow. I am hoping he gets a better nights sleep than last night. His room smoke detector went off last night about 10 pm which meant he lost another hours worth of sleep.
I am doing great I am able to feel the baby move all around. This one keeps me up at night, both boys did not mind me going to bed, but this little one is moving around like crazy. I am doing pretty good with not feeling to sick. But when I do I just get out my ease and smell it makes a world of difference. So thanks Mom.

The days are getting warmer :)

2009-08-03T21:39:00.004-05:00

We are finally get some warmer weather coming our way, the kids are super excited about that. It was so very cute today Kodi asked me if TT and the kids could come over to play so I dialed their home phone and he called Tara. Asking if Inara and Xander could come over for a "Play Date" of course they came over. Tara thought it was so very sweet of Kodi to call her and ask, the kids played outside for most of the day, around nap time they come in for about an hour to have some quite and cool off time.

Than it was back oustide for them. Tara and the kids stayed until about 4ish and than they headed back home. We always have a great time with, Xander and Inara. Today Xander brought his bike with him, the we spent a good deal of time in the front yard letting the kids ride around. Of course they all loved it. Kodi is getting very good at his little 3 wheeled little razor. He wears his helmet and zips around on it.

Kingston just follows the kids around wanting so very bad to be a big kid, I brought out his little Mickey rider to go on and for some reason he loves to go backwords on it. Even when he is driving the Harley or Tara's power wheels he goes backwords, silly little boy. But he has a good time and that is the best part.

After they left we made dinner, Kodi is here helping me make eggs in a frame, which he loves to eat, Kingston decide to squish one of the cherry tomatoes and it sprayed him right in the face, it was pretty funny. Of course he did not eat it, but he did have a good time doing that.

Kodi has been playing outside with the neighbor boys and loves it, tonight they came over and played in the backyard, for about 2 hours. We got out the squirt guns and they had a good time with that. Than it was FHE time which Kodi and I told the boys about, and Kodi was excited to explain what we do. Which was great to see him get so excited over.

My Mom told a very short story about faith and than gave Kodi some M&M's which were apart of the story, he thought that was pretty cool.

Aaron has watch this week, and his turn is in tomorrow morning from 2-4 am. Which he is not looking forward to but cant' wait for it to be over. He takes his third test this week and is looking foward to doing well and getting off base leave. Not sure what he will do with off base leave, he told me he might just go stand of the other side of the wall because he can. LOL

I am sure he will make a stop at the local mall and have a good time with his friend. He has made some good friends, one is in his little branch if you want to call it that, he is a year young than Aaron and our kids are about the same age give or take a few years. But he is on the main side of the base and not on the Core side.

We are excited for the end of the month since they are "saying" Aaron should be picking orders on the 26th, which means we will find out where we will be heading after he is done with "A" school :)

Happy Birthday Dakota

2009-08-02T12:59:00.004-05:00

I can hardly believe Dakota is 4, he is a wonderful little boy. The Lord has given us a wonderful, smart, happy little boy to watch and take care of.
For his Birthday he wanted to have a Transformers party, so that is what I did, I gave him the best Transformers Birthday Party I could give him. During the past couple of months I have been gathering some party things here and there. Target was having a huge sale on their "Transformers" Party items, score for me. I bought the plates, cups, "Happy Birthday" Sign, Hats, blowers toys. All for like 15 dollars, I just love when I get the items I want on sale.

He had asked for a water party to use our big water slide, but with how cold it's been lately it did not work out, the day was nice, but not nice enough for us to use the water slide. The kids started off with just playing outside, and having a good time. Than we called them in to Play "Don't Eat Pete" it a game we played for FHE one night, and now it's Dakota's favorite game.

After we played "Don't Eat Pete" It was time for the Water gun game. I had placed pictures of Transformers all over Tara's yard for them to shoot with the water gun, well it started off great, the kids loved it. Pa found Scott's Super Soaker and started to get the adults, which than the kids joined in and it was an all out water fight. Needless to say the kids loved it.

After the water fight it was time for Cake and Ice Cream time. I had made a Bubble Bee Cake for Kodi, I did my best and he loved it. Of course I got a picture of it on my phone for Aaron to see but not one with the camera.

Next it was present time, Dakota was very happy to open the presents and was very exicted about each and everyone of his presents. We now have many more Transformers, plus other toys, which we have already started to open and play with.

Over all it was a great Party and Dakota loved it so very much, we are truly blessed to have him in our family and I can't wait to see what this year will bring for him.

We ended the night with going to the Drive In with the Solko's, Erica and Jon, and Pants and his son. We saw Ice Age 3 it was a great movie, Kodi loved it. Kingston did pretty well in during the movie and about 15 minutes before it was over he was out. I would have stayed for the next movie but I was getting tired. I love the Drive In, 7.50 for 3 movies and kids under 12 are free. You are allowed to bring in our food, and it's just great. I am sure we will go another time before the season is over.

Why is it so cold here!

2009-07-30T22:11:00.003-05:00

We had a fun filled day at Tara's house, which was nice the kids played in the front yard while she cleaned her car out. Haleigh worked on riding Inara's bike, along with Kodi and Inara. He is working so very hard at riding a big kid bike. Which is what he will be getting from Aaron and I for his birthday.

We had a great lunch with the kids, my two actually ate the lunch we had made, and than went back for more playing. Tara and I both decided to take the kids to some garage sales, and let the babies sleep in the car while we drove around. Of course we hit one great sale, Kodi got a remote control car which he was very happy with. Kingston just stayed asleep in the car, the rest of the ones we found were not so good.

I had been watching the skies during our little outting for it was getting so very dark, and the rain was coming. So we said good bye to them and headed back to our house. The kids ran inside and waited for the storm to hit. Well the storm we were watching for did not really happen, it rained for about 15 minutes blue skies came back and it was very nice out.

I am not sure what is going on with our summer weather but I really do not like it one bit. We have not seen good warm even hot weather since the end of June. It's been pretty cool here, like fall weather very strange I have to say.

I did take some pictures of the boys and Aaron is bugging me to post them so here is Kodi with his new hair do.

My Birthday

2009-07-29T22:45:00.003-05:00

Yes it's my birthday, and thanks to my wonderful Family I had a great one. The kids were pretty good for me today, we did nothing special just had a good time outside playing and being silly.
I think I might have fixed my camera a little bit, not sure at least some of the pictures will come into focus now. I think I am still going to take it in and see what the store says. Maybe just maybe they can fix it, without it costing us a new camera.
Tara and I made plans to go out tonight for alittle no kid time, so my mom took my kids out for ice cream and called to tell me she was going to take them over to a good friend of hers. I was headed to target to pick up some bleach for Tara, the cloth diapers were in need of a bleach treatment and she forget to buy some today.
When I got to her house I noticed the house was ready for night time, so I called and she let me in the garage, and asking me to go and look at the new mirror she bought for the fireplace, well it was a surprise party for me. It was a very nice surprise for me, the whole family was at the party, along with my aunt and my cousin and his family. Uncle Dave made it as well, the Hanus's came and it was a great way to end the night.

Another great surprise is that Dan and Cherstin welcome their new daughter into the world this morning, so there are now two Hamblins that share the same birthday.

Aaron is doing great, he has test number 2 tomorrow. He has been study for this test and is praying he does very well on it.

Kodi got his wild hair finally cut!

2009-07-28T23:34:00.002-05:00

Ok so getting our son Kodi to cut his hair has been a huge battle for us, with this sensory problems hair cutting as well as washing his hair is a battle. So needless to say while Daddy has not been home to help me I have not gotten his hair cut, but we have been talking about getting his hair cut for a couple of days and I just continued to ask him. I told him they would not use the clippers, but the scissors, and he seemed ok with that, but it was a no go until this afternoon.
We were outside talking about getting his hair cut and at first he told me no, and than all of a sudden
he said "Mommy cut my hair,"
I turned and said "Right now"
"Yes Go to the Mall and lady cut my Hair"

With that being said I up and left, I was not going to let his chance pass us by. I did buy him a transformer on the way in so he could hold it while they cut his hair. I said countless prayers as we made our way into the mall.

The lady called his name and he went up and sat in the chair, let her spray his hair down and he told her
"My Mommy say no use those (the clippers) just scissors"
Of course for around his ears and his hair line in the bak she had to use the little clippers, but it was a HUGE step for my son. He did not scream, cry or fight us on this. Both Aaron and I are very proud of him. Kodi was proud of himself as well.

He is doing great with washing his air and loves the bath which is good, the Lord has blessed him in so many ways with the help he needs with his speech and sensory problems.

I would be posting pictures of his hair cut, but Kodi was using my camera yesterday and now it doesn't work. He was so proud that he was taking pictures all by himself. LOL now I need either to get the camera fixed or a new one.
Of course when I asked him if he knew he had broken the camera he had no idea what I was talking about, I think when he was using the focus his little finger was stopping the camera from zooming in and out, which in turn doesn't work now.

Aaron now has the internet, thanks to me sending him our laptop which I miss greatly already, but since it will help him and I had both the laptop and the desktop, I needed to share. It's wonderful to be able to chat with him at night.

Mommy and Dakota time

2009-07-27T23:07:00.002-05:00

I had another great day, my mom offered to watch KK, Inara and the twins so I could go and see Harry Portter with Kodi, Tara,Scott and Xander. I told Kodi that he and Mommy would be going on a date to a movie, which he thought was pretty cool.
He did pretty good with the Movie at times it was slow for him, but over all he was great sitting and eatting his three bag fulls of popcorn.
Once we got home I finished cleaning our room which was in bad need of a good cleaning. I put away the clothes I washed and made our bed and it felt very nice to have a the two rooms I live in be clean.
Not much with us is going on so that is it, I am tired since both boys did not sleep well last night, so I am off to bed.

Birthday Party

2009-07-26T21:01:00.002-05:00

We have had another great weekend, the weather was pretty good for the Birthday Party that we went to for my cousin's little girl who turned 3 . It was a great time and the kids had a blast, we than headed over to Tara's house for a get together with some great friends.

Both of my kids had enough of people and Kingston was turning into a bear so we left and came home. I was able to put both kids to bed and have some what of a quite evening, talking to Aaron. He is doing well, "A" school is going and he is enjoying his classes. He took his first test and did very well.

Today as been a fairly good day for us, church was church I was talking to the nursery leader and she told me that we will be getting (let's keep our fingers crossed) another person to be in with us. Right now we are the only two adults, but we have a small and growing nursery. For some reason the kids were having a hard time coming into nursery and did not want to part from their parents.

But all and all it was good for us at church. We came home and have had a very nice afternoon, and the boys have been great.

New Friends

2009-07-21T23:13:00.002-05:00

Kodi and Haleigh a pretty good day for the two of them, not too much fighting, and no one had any time out's which was great.
Kodi has been playing with the next door boys, the last couple of days and loves being able to be outside with some friends.
Tonight he waited for them while they put together a new phone they got in the mail, Kodi was so very excited when the came looking for him. He stayed outside until it was bedtime. He did not want to leave his two new friends. I told them they would be able to come over tomorrow and play with Kodi and Haleigh tomorrow. All three boys were pretty excited about that news.
Kodi came right in and settled down for bed. Kingston was pretty cute while he was getting ready for bed, he talked to Aaron while he was in bed and just kept saying "Dadda, Dadda" and than kissing the phone.
Kodi at first did not want to call Daddy and say good-night to him, but after we texted him he decided he wanted tocall and say good-night, so he told Aaron about his day and how he was happy to have made new friends.
Aaron is doing well, he actually started classes today, and is enjoying his one class he has.
I am doing fine, still pretty tired and it seems that my energy goes away around 4 if I am sitting down I am no good to anyone. The kids are pretty good for me when I am tired, which is a blessing.

Tea Party

2009-07-20T22:24:00.004-05:00

Here are the pictures I took of Katy and Adam's Tea Party, it was a great party Tara did a wonderful job of getting the decorations finished setting it all up. Sonita and Macie's cake turned out great, many hours went into the cake and everything else we did to set up for the party. It was a great celebration of their marriage and I am glad we were able to help Katy with her Tea Party.

Getting ready for the weekend

2009-07-16T22:36:00.002-05:00

This Sunday we are celebrating Katy and Adam's wedding, I know it's almost been a year but they did not have a reception with their friend but we had a very small family celebration after their were married.
This party we are having is a huge thing for us, Tara has been such a great sport, getting everything ready, plus it's at her house. So we will be heading over in the morning to help clean and do some baking.
The kids had a pretty good day, Kodi woke up asking if we would go and play at TT's house since we have not been over to her house since we came back. Xander has had swim lessons over at the Middle school right by our parents house. So they have been over every morning around 10 to drop off Inara and one of the twins for me to watch while she take Xander and the other twin with her.
Aaron starts classes tomorrow he is looking forward to being in class.

It was another good day

2009-07-15T00:30:00.002-05:00

We have been running since this morning and it seems like we spent most of the day in the car. We got up and got ready for my OB appt, which went great, we are little sad since my Doc won't let me travel after Thanksgiving which means our Disney Trip with my Family won't be happening for us. We are trying to figure out if we will be able to go down just the 4 of us in Oct, we have been telling Kodi he will be doing to Disney World after Daddy is done with Training.
Everything looks good for me and the Baby, my OB is very happy with everything and thinks my due date is off, next month I go for my Ultrasound so we will see.
The kids were great while I was seeing the OB they watched the movie and ate their lunch, which was a little early but that was ok. We than headed to the Bank and over the Kmart by our house since they are closing. I ended up getting new head lights for our car and changed them once we got back after TTP. It had been raining and I knew we would be going out for dinner with my Mom and did not want to be without head lights. Kodi thought I was pretty strong for doing that.
Kingston did not want to go to bed tonight, I saw a text from Aaron so I knew he was still awake and I called him, Aaron ended up putting Kingston to sleep just by talking to him. It was so very cute,KK was holding the phone to his ear, I put the phone on speaker when Aaron talks to KK, and he just talked about his day and than started to whistle to him. Didn't take long for Kingston to settle back down and go to sleep. He was missing his Daddy pretty bad tonight, but I think that was because I was putting him to bed and he thought maybe Daddy would save him from going to sleep.
Kodi was hanging with Grandma tonight, and he was so very excited to tell him that Grandpa started his Harley he has been putting back together, so after Kingston was asleep I went outside to see. Grandpa was so very proud of himself for putting the bike back together. Kodi kept telling my Mom "my Pa amazing" he loves watching Grandpa work on his bike.
We than went inside and read some stories, and Kodi fell asleep in my arms while I read the last book to him. What a good way to end the day.

Much better day

2009-07-13T22:39:00.003-05:00

We had a much better day today, Kodi loved playing with Haleigh and Inara, and all three actually listened to me today. Which was a first in a while, they spent a good deal of their day outside, looking at the cat which was locked in the shed. Yes that is right, a little kitty had gotten it's self locked in our shed, we have been trying to get the Kitty to come out, but it just won't. I think Grandpa did not believe us when we kept telling him the Kitty was in there, well today the little Kitty was looking out the window and the kids were very concerned with the Kitty.
We found the spare shed key and unlocked the door and out came the little kitty. We did not know where she lived, or if she had owners. Thankfully she made her way home, which was only 4 houses away and her owner came down to thank us.
Today for FHE we had a very nice and short lesson on how the gospel is applied to all things in our lives, Grandma had a little bag with three items, which Kodi gave out and than we had to say how the items worked in the gospel. I was given a sock so I used it was a symbol of your body and when you die you leave your body and you have your spirit still. I thought it was a pretty good one. Than we took a bike ride down to DQ for our treat, the Boys loved the bike ride, and my legs are sore.
Aaron is doing good, he went to FHE as well and than was off to bed he gets up at 5 during the week and they did a bunch of moving desks and other things around today, which they will continue tomorrow.
Tomorrow we are off to see my OB, so pray the kids will be good for me.

Another crazy day for us

2009-07-12T22:11:00.002-05:00

Both Kodi and I have colds, which means I don't feel good as well as he doesnt, which in Kodi language means he is just going to put up a fit for me when I ask him to do anything.
We started off pretty good getting ready for church but once in the car and going, he started having a fit since I did not get the Movie going for him. Well the Monster Bag came and took his movie away as well as two more toys. He seems to really listen when I tell him the Monster Bag is going to come and take away his toys when he is not listening.
Once we got to church it was good, he listened and played great with his toys, Kingston and I had a great time in nursey we only had 4 kids today, very nice since I did not feel that good.
I am so very proud of Kingston today, he did not nurse at all, I was cutting him down to only nap and bedtime, he fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep so I got a nap in as well. Bedtime came and he was just a bear I warmed up some milk for him let him have some and than I put him down. He asked once to nurse and that was it, he curled up in my arms and went to sleep. Both Aaron and I have been praying that this process would be fast and he would do just fine.
I don't know why the past couple of days have been so very hard for me to get to do anything around the house, I don't have very much energy I thought I was over that part of my pregnancy but I guess not. By the time it's bedtime I am so very ready. Bedtime for me is my time when I get my work done, post on our blog, talked to Aaron for a little bit, fold laundry but lately I don't even get most of those done. I am just so very tired, I don't like it one bit.
Maybe this week it will be a little better, I go and see my OB on Tuesday so I am excited for that. I should be looking for someone to watch the older kids, but my OB does like to see all the kids as well, so if I have to take them I will it's not that big of a deal, I figured I would just bring the little DVD player and put on a movie for them, with some snacks it will be all good.
Tomorrow is a new day and I am praying it goes better.

I am glad this day is over

2009-07-11T22:20:00.002-05:00

It's been one of those days with Kodi and Kingston, I am not sure what is going on with the two of them, but Kodi was pushing all my buttons. Kingston was crabby and just wanted me to be around.
A couple of calls made to Daddy so he could talk to Kodi about his fits, which made to seem some difference for a little bit. I think he is getting a cold and is just being touchy about everything. Still not sure on the cold or not, I do know that both of us arent' feeling 100 % right now, there is something in the air for me that is getting my allergies and I think it's the same for Kodi which in turn will become a cold for him. I did give him some meds before bed and they knocked him out, he looked at me and said "my medicine making me tried," "Do you want to go to sleep" I asked him "Ok" and Kodi put his head down on his pillow and was out. I hope he has a better night than last night he was up at least 4 times coughing and just not doing well.
Kingston on the other hand sleeps all night long, and I have cut out the his morning nursing, and afternoon ones, so basically all he is nursing for is for nap and bedtime. He is doing great with that, and sometimes he doesn't nurse for nap cause he is naping in the car. Today he took a great nap 2 1/2 hours which he never does.
I was at a baby shower for a friend of mine and I thought when I left the boys would being giving grandma some troubles, but Kingston had just woken up and Kodi was playing with some building toys. Which made me pretty happy.
I am just glad my day is over, I told Aaron that the boys would of had a bad day whether he was here or not. He told me "yes" but if he was at home he would be able to help me out instead of having me deal with all of it, which is true.

Como Zoo

2009-07-10T20:57:00.006-05:00

Today was Park Days, which was schedule for Como Zoo which is our Free Zoo in Saint Paul. We love the small but great Zoo.

Enjoy the pictures I took, we spent most of the morning at the Zoo and than just had a quite afternoon at home.

Two days of Stress

2009-07-09T21:07:00.003-05:00

A cute picture of Kingston eatting some cheese dip.

I have not been so good a updating my blog and I am sorry for that, we have been under a little bit of stress the last two days. Yesterday morning I was called from my work letting me know that my Mom was being taken to the hospital becauseshe was having chest pains. (A call you never want to get)

It was a long day of waiting and more waiting to hear what was going on with her. She made it to the ER after Pa had gotten there which made him nervous because she was not check in at all and they could not find her in the system.

I spent the rest of the morning, calling Family to let them know about Mom and ask for prayers.

They did a EKG which came back normal, blood tests came back normal this morning, and than she had a stress test today which came back normal. Needless to say they do not know what is going on with her, but her heart is in great shape.

She came home tonight, which was great, but all the stress from today and yesterday did take a toll on me, I was able to talk it over with Aaron which was a blessing for me. Being able to talk to him makes a world of difference for us, Kodi loves being able to just talk to his Daddy.

Tonight for dinner I decided it was going to be a breakfast night, Kodi wanted to make waffles so that is what we did. I found my Mom's very old waffle maker and I let him make the waffles. Needless to say the making time lasted twice as long but he had great fun making them, plus they were very tasty.

Day of driving

2009-07-06T22:21:00.003-05:00

I promised some pictures well I have a bunch but I really do suck at taking pictures most of them are no good, but I will post the ones that you can see Aaron.

We made it back home with no problems, the kids did pretty well in the car and it only took us 7 hours to drive home. Kodi watched his transformers all the way home, he just loves transformers. I could hear him talking to his self while the movie was playing,"Soldiers watch out, careful" it was pretty cute.

(Aaron is the 2nd one from the left)

We had a great time with Daddy this weekend, and it's so much easier being able to talk to Aaron during the day. His is done with his day around 4 so we are able to talk to him once he is back from class and other duties. It is crazy how just being able to talk to him makes all he difference. We have both decided that we are going to read scriptures together at night.

Both kids went down pretty well for bed, Kodi did want to know if we were going to get our "New Home". I had to tell him no not until Daddy is done in Oct. Which he will be done with "A" school Oct 25.

The start of 14 more weeks with Daddy

2009-07-05T16:11:00.002-05:00

We have enjoyed our time with Aaron this 4th of July weekend. It has been a fun filled weekend just spending the time as a family. Sadly the time is coming to an end, his liberty expires at 8pm.
Neither one of us is looking forward to leaving and not having each other around. We have been blessed by the Lord and seeing our much our love has grown for one another in the past 8 years. We are truly each othe best friends, which makes this time so hard of each of us. Be boys will be sad to leave their Daddy here, but we made the 8 weeks with the help of Lord and will continue to use his help while we waiting for the next 14 weeks to past.
We are looking forward to being able to call Dady at night and talk to him each day, that will make the time go by a little faster.
We head home tomorrow which is a long drive but for us it's a drive was worth it.

The weekend with Daddy

2009-07-03T16:28:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a day filled with joy a excited for our family. The boys did very well for sitting and waiting to see Daddy, we arrived on base around 7:30 and waited just like all the rest of the families until 9ish for the ceremory to start, once it started it took a little bit for the recuites to join us in the drill hall.
It was a wonderful site to see all 670 Recuites graduate and become sailors. By the end of Kingston and Kodi had had enough of sitting and waiting to go and see Daddy, I Kingston with me as I waited by the bathroom enterence for he is screaming. They call liberty to the Sailors and we were than able to go and meet Daddy. I wasn't sure where in his Division he was standing but we found him. Kingston wasn't sure at first but than went quickly to Daddy and did not let go, Kodi was up in the bleachers my Mom was telling Kodi "'Do you see Daddy with Mommy and KK" not until we were going up to the bleachers did he see Daddy,Kodi did not leave Aaron's side while we were with him.
We ate lunch and than had to leave him at RTC while he went to Grad and Go for his "A" school, while he was checking in we took my Mom to Midway airport which took about 4 hours there and back.
We were not sure how much liberty Aaron would get and if he would have to be back on base each night or not. Because we were in town and staying he was granted special liberty to spend this time with us. We get a full 3 days with Him, the boys love playing with him and holding his hand and just being with their Dad.
Both boys call for Daddy and want his attention, I am just glad we are able to be together for 3 days. Our family feels complete again, it will be a sad Sunday night when we have to leave Daddy at the base. Kingston was not happy to leave him after graduation, but at least during "A" school he is able to have his phone and we can call and leave a message and say good night to him.
We are very proud of our Daddy, I still cannot get over how skinny he is. It's great to have him here with us and the boys are enjoying every minute with Daddy.
I will post pictures when I get home and have the right cord.

One day down three more to go

2009-06-29T22:34:00.002-05:00

We were suppose to head to the beach this morning, but the forecast did not allow that to happen. It was over cast and around 67 this morning, not food weather for beach play. The kids understood and they were happy just to go over and play at Tara's house.

Of course than all 4 big kids decided it was a day of not listening, it did get better towards the end, but still not the best day we have had. Kingston and the twins did not want to go down for naps, Kingston sleep for about 30 minutes and Max and Leo did about the same.

We finally headed home around 5ish just in time for Uncle Adam to pick up Haleigh, we had dinner and I went to put Kingston down for bed, since it was almost 7 pm, Kodi and my parents had FHE which he loves doing. Than Grandma and Kodi did the dishes played more games, and than went and watched our neighbors set off some firecrackers. Kodi thought that was pretty cool.

I have so much that needs to be done before we leave on Wednesday, let's just hope I can get it all done before tomorrow night.

We will try the beach seen again tomorrow!

Sunday what a great Sunday

2009-06-28T21:34:00.002-05:00

No problems once more today with getting ready Kodi got up and got dressed when I asked him, both kids even took a bath this morning. We got to church on time and we were excited since Uncle Scott was giving one of the talks today. Kingston of course started screaming again, so I spent alot of time holding him and talking to him about not yelling.
Once Scott started his talk we went back in, of course Kingston was excited to see Scott up front and started Yelling for him. So I went back into the Mother's room where Tara and the twins were at, we were able to listen to the talk and KK played.

I than headed to nursery our nursey class is so very small, we have about 9 kids total and that is with the two new kids that joined us today. All the kids are around 20 months, Kingston is the youngest but that is because I am in there so he has to be, which is just fine by me. He is a litte trooper he plays with all the kids, and will go and sit down and listen for the most part to the 5 minute lesson.

Our nursery leader was sick today so it was me and her sub, I did the lesson which was on The Scriptures teach me about Jesus. They did very good with the lesson and than colored the picture book I made for them.

Over all 2nd and 3rd hour for us was great, I love the little children I help teach, they are such a sweet group of children.

We are waiting for Wednesday to come, which I am sure the next three days will take forever, but we are booked this week of things to keep us busy. We start the beach schedule all over again, which means we are off the beach again tomorrow morning at 10 and will be out playing until 1. Than we will be heading back to tara's house for nap time, and so down time which will be much needed. Than the kids play and we will head back home.
We will repeat the beach schedule on Tuesday but we will have TTP at 1 and than we will head back home to pack and get the things ready for us to leave Wed afternoon.
We can't wait to see Daddy.

The weekend

2009-06-27T22:32:00.002-05:00

We have had a great weekend so far, yesterday we spent the day playing, swimming and it seemed as if we did not stop. The best part of yesterday was that we got a phone call from Daddy.
He is doing great, he is all done with training and has a couple of days to just be, and not having to learn or test or anything like that, He is glad that the training part is done and over with. He has a cold which isn't to good, and was very tried when we talked to him, since he had been up since Thursday morning, and was not going to bed until Friday night at 8 pm. They did get to sleep for 10 hours that night.
He is looking forward to seeing us and being around his family again. Dakota loved talking to his Daddy and told me "Daddy all done with Training" which he doesn't understand yet that we do get to see Daddy but than Daddy has to go back to training. I am thinking it will be a sad day when we leave daddy again. But at least Aaron will have his cell phone during "A" school.

Kingston would not say"Hi" to Aaron at all, he looked at the phone and listened but that was about it. He has been walking around the house again saying "Daddy, Daddy" it's pretty cute.

Today we had a fun day, we started the day off with getting ready for Uncle Adam's Grad Party, which was good to go to. Than we came home, rested a little bit, the kids played and Grandma took Kodi and Haleigh to go see Peter Pan which was a community play that Aunt Erica was the stage Manager for. He loved the play, which was good.

Kingston and I headed to the Mall for some shopping it was not a successful trip for me, but KK got a new pair of shoes. Which he needed really bad.

One week until we see Aaron

2009-06-25T22:23:00.002-05:00

It was a very good day for us. Another very nice day out, we headed to the beach this morning, while it was not as hot, all the kids loved it. The twins even liked playing in the sand, I think maybe by the time summer is over they will like th water.

Kingston walked back and forth from the water up to the towel, just loved bring water up to us. Max and Leo sat in the sand and either tried to eat the sand or just played in it. Leo even crawled out to the sand toys and was just playing.

Kodi and Xander found a friend, jumped in the water. Once Xander started swim lessons Kodi came out of the water and played in the sand. I just watched the boys and took turns with Tara in the water.

We were going to go back to Tara's house to open the garage sale but both of us did not want to. So we decided to just leave the stuff and I am going to pack it back up and head over to the good will. I am done and over with the garage sale as well as Tara is.

It was a much better day today than yesterday. We are very happy this week is coming to a close it's one week from today that we will be with Aaron.

Remembering the Past

2009-06-24T22:34:00.002-05:00

I have been going through some boxes with my Mom while I am staying here with my parents. I can say it's been a good to rememeber the good times we have had, but at the same time it does bring up some of the past that I don't always want to remember.

My life has not always been this happy for me, as I grew up I remember the pain of having grown up without my Dad, having my parents fight over when we would be going to see my Dad when he would be late to pick us up, and so on.

I also have had to learn how to have a thick skin when it come to church and having people talk about your family. Just a little back ground my Mom remarried a missionary who served in our ward, and than 14 years later divorced him. Talk about what some people had to say about my family. I have grown to learn that the gospel is true, and it really doesn't matter what the people think, as long as I know the truth along with the Lord, I don't care what people think about my past.

I have learned so much from my Mom and her good times and her bad times, it has made me the person I am today.

I have learned how to be the best single parent I can while Aaron is away, how to deal and accept help from family. Without my family I won't be able to do this. Tara is such a huge help I don't know what I would do if I did not have her right now. I don't know what I am going to do when I move. That is the best part of joining the "Navy" is that we are going to move away from My Family. Katy and I are very good friends and it's been along time since she has been waiting to be around us. Tara and I are best friends we see each other every day, I am always at her house, Her kids are like mine. I love all my nieces and nephews, it's going to be very hard for me when we leave.

Just like when I was little I had to pray to the Lord for help, and I will have to do the same. He will be standing next to me holding my hand while I am away from my family. I will find a new family to help me. The lord will provide for us, I know that to be true.

He has been standing next to us while we are away from Aaron and he has been giving Aaron the strength He needs to do very well in basic training.

I am grateful my kids are able to make memories with my parents while we are here, I have so many memories of my grandma who is one of my heros. I love and miss her so very much. I learned I could always call on my grandma to help me out. Now my kids are learning this lesson, they can call on grandma and pa at anytime and they will be there for them. It's such a wonderful blessing my kids are getting.

Crazy Kids

2009-06-24T22:14:00.002-05:00

Today was a day of craziness for us, my kids did not listen, which meant we did not go over to Tara's house to be with them.
We did make it over to the DMV to get my address changed on my license changed. Than we headed over to the library and I let the kids check out some books, I would have stayed a little longer but Kingston had enough of being quite, so we left.

We got home and had some nap time, Kodi just needed a day of down time which he stilled needed as he went to bed. We had a battle of washing the soap out of his hair, which he screamed at me and woke his brother up, I was not happy to say the least. I have to find another way of dealing with his not listening. It's driving me crazy, he does pretty good most of the time, but when he just decides nope i don't want to listen that is the end.

Thankfully Kingston went back to sleep and Kodi calmed down and went to sleep. I am so very glad we get to see Aaron next week. It will be so much better when we are able to talk to him on the phone at night, instead of waiting for his letters.

He is ready to be done with basic, and is thankful it's almost over. He is doing great, he has the last test tomorrow morning and it finished Friday night at 8pm. So please say some extra prayers for him since he will not be able to sleep at all during that time. I can't believe how fast the 8 weeks have gone by.

We are off to the beach again tomorrow I will bring my camera and get some pictures of the boys in the water and how much fun they have.

A Day in the water

2009-06-23T21:45:00.002-05:00

We spent the majority of our day in the water. We started off this very hot day with a walk, which I was not too bad since I knew we were heading to the lake afterwords. We met Tara and the kids again at the Lake for swimming lessons, which Inara doesn't like at all, my kids were able to swim for about and hour or a little more before we had to head to TTP.
While we were at the Lake Dakota was jumping off the dock with no fear, he loved it Kingston just wanted to be near Tara and one of the twins and just play in the sand and water. Which was great since Tara was able to sit down and watch KK. Haleigh was not to sure about jumping off the Dock at first, but finally got the hang of it.

Sara and Megan said Kodi is doing great, his colors are getting so much better he is able to say each one when he is asked what color is this. He was having trouble telling you which color was which, he knew them because when were asking him to find the "green circle" he would be able to find it and hand it to her, but when he was asked "what color is this" he was having that trouble. But he is able to tell us that know. We are still working on his shapes and drawing them, he is making progress on his circles with the starting and stopping. We practise drawing circles and shapes during church.

After TTP we headed back into the water at the Hanus house. When we first arrived it was getting a little cloudy and dark out but it hadn't started to rain so we headed out to the pool and of course once we all got in it started to rain, well the rain only lasted for about 15 minutes and than it was over.
Kodi again had no fear with jumping off the diving board, he was pretty funny he had found a snorkal mouth piece, fins and some goggles. I just had to laugh at him. Kingston was going down the slide right into my arms he loved it. Both my kids have no fear in the water and are fishes, just like their mom.

We love the Hanus family and I am grateful my kids are able to know them. It was a fun day out in the sun. We are heading back to the beach tomorrow and than to Tara's house for the garage sale! I hope we can stay cool since it's suppose to be hot again.

Beach Time

2009-06-22T21:32:00.002-05:00

It was so very hot today, we decided to tag along with Tara and her kids while they went to the beach for swimming lessons. I was going to put Kodi in the same class as Inara, but we would be missing the last two days of class because of leaving for Aaron graduation.

Once we finally got to the beach we learned that in order to park by the beach you have to have a permit, which meant we had to park far away, thankfully I bought the stroller, we got everyone out of the car and finally down the to the water.

Man did my kids love the beach, Kingston wanted me to let him go free in the water, of course I did not let him do that. But he just kicked and splashed and laughed. Kodi jumped off the dock and than he and Inara tried to catch the little fish in the lake. Of course they did not get anything but they sure did have fun trying.

We finally got them all out of the water and back in the car, we did not want to spend the hottest part of the day at the beach since the Max & Leo don't like the water, and they were getting hot. We headed back to Grandma's house for Lunch and Nap time.

After nap time we headed back outside for some sprinkler time, of course Kingston was all about that, he loves the water. Finally the kids had enough of the heat and each other. Tara went home and Kodi had some time to undwind.

Grandma than did FHE for us and than gave me a break she took Kodi and Haleigh down to DQ for a treat and I put KK to sleep since he only had a 45 minute nap today. So I have had no kids all night, :) thank you Mom.

Pa is out of town and she usually has a sleep over with the grandkids, so tonight she asked if Haleigh could sleep over and Kodi tried to sleep with them, but he just came and asked if he could sleep in his own bed. I am very proud that he tried to be with them. Usually he doesn't want anything to do with that. Now he is in his own bed and ready for sleep to take over.

Tomorrow we are headed back to the beach, than TTP and than we are off to the family I used to Nanny for, they have a pool so more swimming.

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-21T21:20:00.002-05:00

We had a great day, Kodi was ready to go to church with no fits, until we were ready to leave. He wanted to bring the new DVD player with us, and I had to tell him "No" which did not go over well. But it was a short lived Fit, I was very grateful for.

We spent the afternoon with Uncle Scott, and just enjoying their family. The grandkids gave Grandpa a homemade T shirt, which I think he liked.

Kodi wanted to let all his grandpa's "Happy Father's Day"

What a great Day

2009-06-20T22:33:00.002-05:00

I have to say I just loved today, we had no plans, nothing to do. It was just the kids and I for most of the day. We played in morning, went to target to get some Father's day things for Grandpa's, had lunch.

Went and saw Sonita and just had a great nothing day. I was than informed that around 4:30ish my Dad was going to be at Tara's house. He was coming over a day early for Father's Day. He was suppose to come on Thursday, but he canceled than he said Friday and of course canceled again, so I was not sure if he would really be coming today. Well we than headed back to target once more to get him his card and gift.

I think over all we spent 2 hours in target today, crazy. I thought maybe we should have gone to walmart, but Kodi really wanted Target, which I didn't mind since it's down the road from my parents house and not a 20 minute drive like Walmart.

Than we headed to T's house to meet everyone. We did have a good time, the kids played outside, and ran around. All 6 kids love seeing my Dad and Eli and Ashley. Eli is so very good with the kids and so is Ashley.

We had to cut our time short since KK was tired and it was close to 8, but when we got home and in the house he did not want to go back to sleep, he finally stopped fighting the sleep and gave in. Kodi headed back down to Target again with Grandma to do some grocery shopping. Grandma and Pa had been gone all day. Kodi was very excited to see them, he must have missed them.

I do want to tell Uncle Adam how proud we are of him, he graduated today with his PhD for Physical Therapy. Congrats Adam, I know how hard you have been working.

That was our day a very nice and slow paced for us, now it's bed time :)

Garage Sale at last

2009-06-19T22:50:00.003-05:00

Yes that is right, we finally got up and running this morning, well it was more like noonish when we finally were ready either way we did pretty good.
The kids had a blast running around outside and playing in the items we were trying to sell. We had most of the neighbors over sometime with their kids, which they all bought some movies and toys.

I was selling our Red Bull bar light which Aaron got from work, some kid wanted it, which was fine, I was very happy to get the 5 dollars for it since we did not pay anything for it.

Kodi will be getting a little three wheeled spider man razor, he doesn't know that and we will be giving to him for his birthday, he was riding it all around today. Tara's neighbors are selling it. He is going to be so very happy.

My mom came around 1ish and took Inara and Kodi back home with her and let them play there. Which was a huge help, Xander went with the next door neighbor and his kid to go garage sale shopping, so we just had Kingston and the twins, plus my cousin and her two girls. But the babies were a hand full today. Kingston did not want to be out of my sight.
I would put him on my back, but he did not like that, I put him in the pak and play which he just cried. I finally put him down for a nap and he slept pretty good until Giai starting barking stupid dog.

Thankfully my Aunt came back over and watched over the garage to give us a break, and take the babies in.

We are continuing with the garage sale on wed - friday of next week. Tara has more to put in, so that should give her more time to get things out.

It was a nice day not to hot but still very nice out.

Boy was it HOT today

2009-06-18T21:14:00.004-05:00

Max crawling

Leo not

Kodi jumping off the slide

Kingston putting his head in the sprinkler

Round 2

Round 3

Happy Boy

Kodi in his Very Big Swim suit

Getting a drink of water

So it did rain this morning, and we thought it was going to be a rain out for the garage sale, boy where we WRONG. It turned out to be a very hot great day. So let's pray that tomorrow is going to just as nice as today.

The good news is that the kids played outside again in the sprinkler, and all four loved it. Kodi had a fit as the kids where getting ready, because the bathing suit grandma bought for him was too big, and it fit Xander, instead. Well he finally came out and was wearing Xander's suit which was way too big. He fit through one of the mesh legs inside of the bathing suit. He was very cute, he did not mind that it was so big on him.

Kingston loved putting his face straight into the water, he loved it. He has no fear at all, he played so very hard outside, and ran all around. The twins even came out, they did not get wet but enjoyed being outside with all of us.

Aaron can't believe how fast the past 6 weeks have gone, and he is very excited to be done with basic training. We leave to see him two weeks from yesterday.

Life is good for us and we thank all of you who have been praying for our little family. Those prayers have been felt and we are very blessed to have all you praying for us. Aaron can tell when we pray for him and when he is about to break he gets a boost of the blessing of prayer and he is able to make it.

Garage Sale here we come

2009-06-17T22:04:00.002-05:00

Today was a great day for us. The kids did a great job playing and listening to me. :) I love that, Kodi and Haleigh played while I put Kingston down for 2 naps this morning. The little stinker was up at 6 ish and than went back down around 8:30 up at 10 and that I put him back down after lunch.
He is so crabby I don't know why but he just is. My Mom is done in the office around 12:30 and she takes all the Big kids for about 2 hours and gives Tara and I a break. I headed over to her house once again, but this time it was for us to get ready for our Garage Sale tomorrow, at least that is the plan if the rain holds out on us.

I can't wait to sell my stuff, and if it doesn't sell than it's off the the Goodwill than. We actually have a lot to sell, my counsin Macie came over to put some of their things in the garage sale. If it doesn't end up raining than we are ready for next week.

Kingston was pretty happy to play outside while I set up, but he continued to run in the back yard and not stay with us. I ended up putting him on my back and wearing him while I unpacked and refolded the baby clothes.

The Kids came back after 2 hours and spent the rest of the day outside playing. All 4 were very tired before we left. I told Kodi since he was so very good and listened to Grandma today and made the right choose when he was getting upset, he wanted to kick Grandma because he was upset with Inara, he chose to listen and calm down and sit in a different chair and do the project. Which is a huge step for this little boy. I was so very proud, I guess after all the things I tell him are setting in.
I told him I would take him to McDonalds since we have not had fast food in about 3 weeks. He was very happy, I even told him we would eat inside, a double treat. That is what we did for dinner, he was very happy. As we walked out he asked for ice cream, I just laughed and told him No since we just had a treat.
He was ok with it.

Home it was for us, as we were driving home we saw Grandma and Pa driving the other direction of course kodi was upset because they were not home, I called Grandma and asked when they would be home, She told me they were out getting some pumpkin seeds for the garden. Since the kids were asking about growing them.
Kodi was happy to hear that and stopped his fit. The boys than had their baths which was much needed. Kodi is even washing his hair with no fits :) I love all the hard work he has been doing at TTP it is really paying off.

Now they both are sleeping and it's very quite.

Aaron sent both the boys the postcards Mom and Dad had sent to Aaron. Kodi didn't understand why he couldn't open the post card to read. KK held on to the postcard until he was asleep. We are getting very excited to see him.

Rain Rain go away

2009-06-16T22:42:00.002-05:00

We had another great day, TTP was great for Kodi, he did was so good, his normal speech therapist Sara was sick today, and he did not mind he had a different therapist today. Megan was very happy to hear about his trying of new food, she gave me some very good ideas on what to do when Kodi doesn't like something he tried.
Try and explore the food and why he didnt' like it, with the pasta he did not like the cheese coming out of it. So open it up and show him it's the cheese and ask if he tasted the cheese in the middle.

Kingston is still screaming his way thur life, it is not as bad as it was but it still is not good. He has been missing Daddy a lot, he is looking out the window and calling out Daddy. It will be very good for KK to see him .

Over all it was a quite day for us, I did lock us out of the house today, and of course Kodi had to use the bathroom good thing he is a boy, and doesn't mind peeing outside. So we headed to Tara's house and just stayed again for dinner. We had a meeting about Katy's wedding reception tonight anyway so I did have to be at her house. I was not expecting to be there so soon. I had laundry in and I needed to pick up the house before the parents came home from work .Well that did not happen. My mom did do my laundry for me which was nice. Now I just need to put the clothes away.

Of course the day the kids decide to be crazy is the day it's raining outside, and we can't send them outside, to run off the energy. The rain always seems to make my crazy, not sure why it does, but it does.

Counting down the days

2009-06-15T22:09:00.003-05:00

We are counting down the days until we go and see Aaron, Dakota has a some M&M's in a jar that he takes a couple from and when the jar is empty that is when we leave to go and see Aaron. (Thanks Cherstin for the idea)
Dakota colored Aaron another picture and put the picture in the mail box, I tried to explain that the mail man won't take the letter since it wasn't in anything, He did not care, he was so proud that he out the letter in the mailbox.

The weather was so very nice out, we headed over to Tara's house for the kids to play outside in the little pools. We invited Macie and her kids and we ended up staying the whole day, we all had dinner and a good time.

Macie cut my hair as well as Tara's, I am so very glad all I do is pull my hair back into a ponytail, and than I get a huge headache because it's so very heavy. My hair is short and I love it. I will get a picture posted tomorrow.

Dakota has been doing very well with trying new foods at dinner, we have been reading Green Eggs and Ham. Last week he tried some Lasagna and liked it. I was so very proud, and than tonight he tried some tortellini. He put one piece in his mouth and bit down did not like that came out of the tortellini, so he tried another one. He found out he did not like it at all. I am so very proud of him.
Before he would not try and I would end up cooking something else for him. This is a huge step for him and his sensory diet. I can't wait to to tell him Therapists. We have been working so very hard with his therapy. He is making so much progress.

Kingston has been a bear all day, I am not sure what is going on but this little boy has to let you know when he doesn't like something. He will start to scream and than if he is really mad at you he will hit you. The little stinker. I am sure it's a phase but I don't like it at all. He fell down outside and has a nasty looking left eye, some how he managed to hit the corner of his eye when he went down, I just hope he doesn't get a black eye.

Sunday

2009-06-15T02:57:00.003-05:00

We had another great Sunday, I truly love when Kodi gets ready and does what he needs to do in order for us to be on time to church.

We actually were 1o minutes early to church got a good parking spot and it was great. Kingston on the other hand was a screaming, I really don't like his little high pitched scream. We spent the majority of the time in the Mother's room.

Than we headed off to nursey, Kingston loves playing with all the toys and being able to run around. I counted today all the kids and we have a grand total of 7 kids. Most of the kids are 18 months or just a little older. We are finding it hard to keep them busy after snack time. They are a little to young to do a craft besides coloring, and singing time is about 2 minutes long, if we even have it. I guess the Singing Lady from Primary doesn't come in which I am not so sure I like, we are going to try and get someone to come in and do singing time.

At least I am just a helper and not the leader I am grateful for that.

After church we had a wonderful chicken dinner and Adam come over to see all of us. It was great, Kingston wasn't sure at First than he threw his little arms round his neck and hugged Adam and did not want to let go. He stayed with Adam for most of the time they were over.

I am glad he is back and he had a good time, Haleigh is very happy to have her Dad back as well. This week should be a good one, we are getting ready for our garage sale at Tara's house, we want to be able to just open up the garage and have it all ready. So we are getting everything put out and ready to go this week.