It's been too long...

I know.  It's been too long since I last updated this.  We've had a lot of little things keeping us busy lately.  Dr. appointments, phone calls with insurance and Dr. offices (this is constant!), etc.  So, here's a little bit of what has been going on.

The boys had their 15 month check-up about a week and a half ago.  I still can't believe they are that old already.  Anyways, they are continuing to grow like weeds.  Reese is still the peanut.  He's 1 1/2 inches shorter than Noah.  :)  The Dr. was impressed with how much they are talking and their development in general.  Her comment was, "Wow.  They are really busy."  If only she know what it's like at home.  All in all they had a great visit.

Aiden had a check-up with the GI Dr. about his reflux.  He has been doing so well that she said we can take him off of his medicine and we don't need to return unless there is a problem.  Such great news!  She was the second to last Dr. we see at the University of Chicago.  Reese has a check-up with a surgeon in the spring and that's the last one.  It is sort of sad though.  We have such a strong connection to that hospital.  It's a weird feeling to be so attached to a hospital, but they've done so much for us. 

We also had the boys on an antibiotic for 3 days.  The parasite that they had just wasn't going away, so the Dr. put them on an antibiotic.  Thankfully things have been great since then.  I even had to do a phone interview with the county health department about what they were exposed to right before they got sick. 

The boys have been quite busy doing things to make my life even busier.  I will include a couple of pictures of those activities at the end.  If you wonder what I do all day just imagine the things a little boy can come up with and then multiply it by 3. 

Finally, Aiden started walking!  I was really starting to worry.  One day he just let go of the couch and walked.  He's still crawling  more than walking, but he's well on his way. 

Now the pictures....

They took every single kleenex out of the box and shredded them.  I found bits of kleenex for many days all over the house.

 Noah is tall enough to reach things on the table, even when we push them far in.  He took down the bag of newspaper and they worked together to shred that as well.

 They like to push each other on ride-on toys.  Sometimes it gets too wild and the guy riding gets tipped off the toy.  :)

 Reese LOVES to build.  He spends a lot of time building with these blocks and with big legos.

 Of course the laundry basket is always a fun place to play.  It's especially fun when there is laundry in it that can be spread all around the house. 

No longer babies

Life has been quite busy, so I'm sorry for the lack of updates.  My brother got married on the 13th.  It was a great day!  I've never seen a bride and groom smile and have as much fun as my brother and his wife did.  We had a great time celebrating with them.  We also gained a nephew that day. My now sister-in-law has a son who is 9.  He is such a sweet boy and we're happy to have him as our nephew!  It was so awesome watching them come together as a new family. 

We've also been trying to get answers and finally get over the boys having intestinal issues (to put it nicely).  Noah still isn't able to have too much dairy, so he's drinking soy or lactose free milk.  Ugh.  It's so much more expensive than milk.  However, it means he doesn't have an upset stomach, so it's worth it.  Nate and I took in stool samples for Aiden and Reese yesterday to show that they have the same thing (c diff) that Noah does.  We're sure they do, so now we wait for the official word.  They will probably all be on antibiotics to get rid of it once and for all.  I can't wait to be rid of this!  On a side note Nate and I laughed so hard while attempting to fill the specimin containters with poop.  As Nate said, "The things we do for our kids.  Unbelievable."  Yes, it was unbelievable and it was also hilarious.

I also have come to the realization that our boys really aren't babies any longer.  Noah is walking all over the house (as of last week) and Reese is starting to.  Aiden talks like crazy.  He can now say Noah, which he says Oah; Moo, which is Ooo; and Reese, which is Eee.  Reese is also saying hot.  Just this morning I asked Aiden if he loved Reese and he went and gave him a hug and kiss.  I almost cried.  There is nothing sweeter than when they love on each other.  For as much as they fight over things, especially toys, it's so fun they love on each other. 

I guess I'm both happy and sad at the realization that they are doing more.  It is so great that I get to be here all the time watching them learn new things.  They are so much fun now.  As much as I miss them being little babies I really don't miss things like not sleeping and constant bottle feeding.  Someone asked me the other day if it gets easier.  I said, "No, it just gets different".  I know, poor grammar.  It's true though.  There are still 3 little boys who need me constantly.  None of them can put on their own shoes, walk to the car, put on a coat, go to the bathroom.  They still need their food cut up, to be put into their beds, etc.  It does get easier in the sense that they can play and entertain themselves.  It just constantly changes.  Who knows what will change by the next time I update this!

Boys are gross

Boys are gross.  Yep, it's true.  They do such gross things that I almost can't believe it sometimes.  Just yesterday I walked into the boys' room to get them out of bed and there was a stray piece of poop sitting in Reese's bed.  He took his diaper part way off and a little turd rolled out of the diaper, down his pants leg and into the bed.  I checked his hands and mouth because it would not be at all unusual for them to eat a piece of poop.  I wish I could say I was lying, but Noah has picked up poop before.  This is probably how to contract illnesses like parasites.

Speaking of Reese removing clothing he is now into taking off his socks.  No matter what socks I put on him he takes them off and then chews on them.  Gross.  I find his soggy little socks all over the house.  He throws them out of bed most days.  Last night I put him in one piece pajamas so he couldn't take them off.  I hate the thought of his feet getting wet.  He still enjoys taking one arm out of a long sleeve shirt.  I found him with one arm out of his shirt after naptime last week.  Don't be surprised if you pass our house and see him running outside naked in a year or so.  It will probably happen.

They are learning so much lately.  It's very clear that kids know more than we think.  They have 1 show that they watch and are in love with.  It's called, "The Wheels on the Bus".  A dragon drives the bus and they go all around the town.  When the boys want to watch it they start doing the round and round motion that the kids on the show do.  It is so darn cute!  Aiden continues to find ways to climb onto the couch and other places he shouldn't be.  Reese is so skinny he can twist and turn until he's standing in his highchair.  Noah scowls at everyone and everything and even rolls his eyes on occasion.  When I tell them to say cheese Aiden says, "eee!" and smiles as wide as he can.  So funny.  Aiden is also saying, "Oah" for Noah.  If you drag out the syllables and say it to slow he says, "No, no, no" like someone is in trouble.  He is also starting to say "Moo" when I ask what a cow says.  He yells Lue (more like Woo) when our dog barks and puts his hand to his ear and says, "Hewo" like he's talking on a phone.  He is our verbal child.  Noah is good at things that require gross motor skills.  Reese is the best at things that require fine motor skills.  He watches every move we make and repeats it, no matter how much attention to fine detail it requires.

The final funny thing they do is this...When we say, "Time for bed" and open the baby gate they all crawl up the stairs.  It has made life so much easier.  Instead of carrying each one upstairs they can get up there on their own!

Life

We were excited to finally be getting over all of the illnesses that have plagued our house since July.  No one was having intestinal issues, although Noah is still not drinking milk.  He is drinking lactose free milk because he can't digest regular milk at this point.  Well, we know better than to think it's over.  Now all 3 have a cold.  Oh boys.  It's nothing bad or serious, just an inconvenience.  That means that can't be in the nursery or anything again.  It seems like it's been forever since we've been to church as a family.  I'm trying to be positive and be glad that they all have it at once and aren't passing it around one at a time.

It's been fun to watch the boys learning and growing so much lately.  Noah and Reese are starting to become more confident and letting go of things to take some steps.  Aiden is still not really interested.  He takes one little step and then starts crawling.  They are all good crawlers so it's much faster than trying to walk somewhere.  Aiden has learned how to get onto the couch.  We were keeping the remotes on the back of the couch so they couldn't reach them.  I walked into the living room after being in the kitchen and saw him sitting on the couch holding both remotes.  He also gets the batteries out. Needless to say the remotes have a new home.  Reese has been teaching Aiden how to open the baby gates.  Every day they seem to learn something new, for better or worse.

Today marks the end of Nate working out of town.  He has been working in Wisconsin for 4 weeks.  He has been leaving on Sunday night and coming home on Thursday night.  I have had my mom and cousin stay overnight, just so that I'm not alone.  Today is his last day.  It's not ideal to have him out of town, but it's work.

The next few weeks are very busy for us.  We have a couple of weddings coming up, including my brother!  We're very excited!  I'm also going to be a sub at Highland Christian 2 weeks from today.  Gulp!  This is my first time as a sub.  It's a resource room which is what my job was before.  I'm sure it will be fun to get back into my old job for a day.  I realized how difficult it would be to work though.  Lining up people to watch the boys and thinking about all that I'll have to have ready is exhausting! :)  Anyways, if you don't see much from me in the next few weeks that's why!  We'll be a little crazy around here.  Isn't it always?  

Time out!

It's true.  Time out has started at our house.  There was just no way around it.  Our kids are naughty.  Recently the favorite thing to do is shake a lamp.  They look at me crawl over to the lamp, shake it and then look back at me as if they're saying, "What are you gonna do about it?".  After attempts to tell them, "No", redirect them, scare them by saying something like, "Ow!" they had yet to be phased.  One night I had enough.  I grabbed the offender, I believe it was Noah, and buckled him into a chair.  He was less than thrilled.  It seems to be helping at this point.  They are very clearly testing the limits.  They also throw little fits.  They arch their backs when you hold them, scream, Reese hits his head on the floor or crawls around with his face on the floor and kick their legs.  I remember talking to our pastor about the concept that we are born with sin and how some people just can't believe that.  Have children.  You'll believe it.  I did not teach them how to be naughty, but they most certainly are.  The amount of hitting, pushing, hair pulling and screaming at each other is almost unbelievable at times.  Wow.  I just made them sound awful. They are not always that bad!  They just have moments where they totally melt down...times 3.  It can get a little crazy!

They are also getting teeth by the mouthful these days.  Reese is on his way to 12 teeth.  Noah is holding steady at 6.  Aiden finally got his top 2, which puts him at 3 total.  He has a bottom tooth that is there, but can't seem to cut through the gums.  I'm starting to worry a little because it's been that way for weeks.  Poor kid.  I think we'll keep trying to get it through by chewing on things.  It's just amazing how different they are!

Monkey see, monkey do

There is a lot of monkey see, monkey do going on at our house these days.  The boys are constantly watching us and each other to learn things.  They often teach each other naughty things, like opening a drawer and tearing it apart or pulling cords out of the wall and handing it to the other guy to chew on.  Reese is especially observant.  He has learned how to open the baby gates and take the outlet protectors out of the wall.  He also learned how to get his arm out of a shirt and even started pulling it over his head.  I'm sure I'll walk in a room and find him completely naked soon (he already knows how to take off his diaper).  They also learned how to move things in order to get somewhere.  They move chairs all the time!  Aiden also used a basket, which he turned upside down, to climb on the couch.  I was so worried they would have developmental delays (can't help it, I'm a teach at heart).  I think I can let that fear go now.

We have also been dealing with intestinal illness (to put it nicely) for 5 weeks.  Ugh.  It's been frustrating.  Finally week the Dr. wanted to run some tests on Noah.  He's been the worst, so we brought him in.  The tests showed that he has something called C. Diff.  There is a longer name, but I don't remember it.  You can google it.  :)  He probably got it from being on an antibiotic, which killed all the good bacteria in his gut and caused the bad bacteria to grow out of control.  He also has something called Crypto.  There's a really long name for that as well.  We were told to look it up on the CDC's website.  It's never good when your pediatrician tells you to look something up on the CDC's website.  We did and it turns out it's a parasite.  Awesome.  He either got it from water or from Lue.  Our guess is Lue.  A lot of kids get it from being in a daycare.  While our house looks like a daycare it is not one.  So, he must have contracted it from water or a pet.  It has no treatment other than giving it time to work out of his system.  So, for now they can't be around little kids or a group of kids.  Just when we were starting to have play dates and do fun things, we're essentially stuck!  Oh well, this too shall pass.

Baby steps

I could probably write a novel today I'm so behind in updating our blog.  I'll try not to write quite that much.

I'll start with our incredibly fun trip last weekend.  We went to Indianapolis with my parents.  We went to the zoo, the Children's Museum walked around the city, ate (a lot!) and just had fun.  We even swam, which Aiden wasn't in the mood for and Noah and Reese loved.  The first night was a little rocky.  It took twice as long to get there because of a truck fire.  That totally threw the boys off and they didn't go to bed until 11:00.  The second night the fire alarm went off at 2:00 am and briefly at 3:00 and 4:00 am.  Thank you person who was cooking after a night of drinking.  Luckily the boys slept well despite it.  Other highlights include losing Aiden, who opened the door, which was propped open, and took off in the hallway and Reese learning how to open the door.  He was just tall enough to reach the handle and could pull it down and then pull just hard enough to get it to a point where he could swing it open and crawl out.  They are learning too fast! We also had a chance to go out just the 2 of us.  The whole trip was wonderful.  We really didn't want to come home.

The next exciting (and scary) thing in our house are the first steps.  Reese will take 1 step.  He is not our risk taker, which surprises me, and doesn't want to do more than a step.  Noah took a step last night and then the next time 4 steps.  He pretty much runs instead of walking.  It's so funny to watch his feet move so fast.  Aiden has absolutely no interest in walking.  You can find him climbing on everything all day long.  He can almost get himself up onto the couch.  Stay tuned for the first broken bone or cracked open head.  I'm sure it's just around the corner.

Finally, today is a day of incredible significance in our house.  It's a day of celebration and remembrance of a year ago.  Do you know what it is?  One year ago today I held Reese in my arms and stared at his lifeless face.  He was completely limp with a peaceful smile on his face.  I thought this would be the day we would have to remember losing our child.  I am so thankful that that is not what we remember today.  Today we remember a miracle.  We remember the way 2 police officers quickly jumped into action and discovered the problem.  We remember the way he was rushed by a police escort to the hospital.  We remember the peace we felt when we were transferred back to University of Chicago.  We especially remember the kindness of the surgeon who added Reese onto an already packed day so that our little boy wouldn't have to wait to eat any longer.  It is certain to be a day filled with emotion.  It really started to hit me last night.  This day could be so different.  How do we ever thank those 2 men who were able to think so fast and get him breathing?  We've thought for a year and have come up with nothing.  There is no appropriate way to thank someone for saving your child.  I wrote a letter to them to express our thanks and hope that they understand how special they are to us.  I am so thankful that the Lord saw fit to let us keep our child.  Our crazy, often naughty, little peanut Reese is alive and well.  Say a prayer of thanks today that we're celebrating and not mourning. I know I will.